WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.279 Welcome back to the Neogentrics Multiverse podcast. 00:00:02.500 --> 00:00:05.259 Welcome to season two. Yes. Welcome back, everyone. 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:07.259 I mean, I just have to say it right at the top. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:09.439 What a massive milestone for us. We actually 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:12.140 completed season one. We made it. We really did. 00:00:12.259 --> 00:00:15.000 We made it through the entire deep dive of the 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:17.719 Whistling Swordsman book one, which, you know, 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:20.899 looking back was just this colossal timeline 00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:25.000 altering journey. Oh, absolutely. The sheer scale 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:28.199 of the temporal wars in that first book was staggering. 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:31.460 it really was but uh we are not gonna sit here 00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:34.079 and re -summarize all of that today because honestly 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:36.280 the energy right now is just too high to look 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:38.820 backward we are moving completely forward we 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:42.070 have to The roadmap for Season 2 requires a total 00:00:42.070 --> 00:00:44.570 shift in focus. We are officially moving into 00:00:44.570 --> 00:00:46.689 a brand new corner of the Crazy Story universe. 00:00:46.969 --> 00:00:48.450 Right, which means we are leaving the continent 00:00:48.450 --> 00:00:51.390 of Pekadesh behind for now. Exactly. We are diving 00:00:51.390 --> 00:00:54.070 headfirst into the Voidmaster series. And for 00:00:54.070 --> 00:00:55.869 you listening, just to give you the full layout 00:00:55.869 --> 00:00:58.270 of the season, we are going to be moving chronologically 00:00:58.270 --> 00:01:00.369 through the two published books in this specific 00:01:00.369 --> 00:01:03.329 series. Right, so that's the Elementalist first, 00:01:03.509 --> 00:01:06.209 and then its immediate follow -up, the Elementalist 00:01:06.209 --> 00:01:09.390 Resonance and Destruction. Yeah, but because 00:01:09.390 --> 00:01:12.069 this new series introduces a world that is so 00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:14.250 radically different from anything we've covered, 00:01:14.409 --> 00:01:16.790 we're actually putting our usual debate format 00:01:16.790 --> 00:01:19.409 on hold. Which I think is a very smart move for 00:01:19.409 --> 00:01:21.549 this one. Yeah, I mean, usually we love to take 00:01:21.549 --> 00:01:24.590 opposing sides, you know, argue character motivations 00:01:24.590 --> 00:01:28.349 or the ethics of whatever temporal crisis is 00:01:28.349 --> 00:01:30.430 happening. But you can't really debate the ethics 00:01:30.430 --> 00:01:32.489 of a world when you don't even understand its 00:01:32.489 --> 00:01:36.209 basic gravity yet, right? Exactly. So today we 00:01:36.209 --> 00:01:38.930 are doing a purely collaborative deep dive. Just 00:01:38.930 --> 00:01:41.810 a total team effort to map this out. Right. Consider 00:01:41.810 --> 00:01:45.769 today's session basically a spoiler -free introductory 00:01:45.769 --> 00:01:49.090 primer. The mission today is just to get you, 00:01:49.150 --> 00:01:51.769 the listener, oriented. We're going to introduce 00:01:51.769 --> 00:01:54.109 the new protagonist, lay down the overarching 00:01:54.109 --> 00:01:56.829 rules of his home world, and just set the stage 00:01:56.829 --> 00:01:58.930 before we actually dive into the real plot next 00:01:58.930 --> 00:02:00.590 time. So let's just jump right into it. Let's 00:02:00.590 --> 00:02:02.569 talk about the boy on the hill. Oh man, what 00:02:02.569 --> 00:02:05.129 an introduction to a character. Right. So our 00:02:05.129 --> 00:02:09.449 new protagonist is named Zerl. And the way Neogentrix 00:02:09.449 --> 00:02:14.169 describes him in the universe guides is it's 00:02:14.169 --> 00:02:16.169 almost contradictory. It's a total biological 00:02:16.169 --> 00:02:18.689 paradox. Yeah, because, OK, we're looking at 00:02:18.689 --> 00:02:21.669 a young man, early 20s, right? 22, I think. Yeah, 00:02:21.710 --> 00:02:24.110 early 20s. But he does not look like a typical 00:02:24.110 --> 00:02:28.159 20 -something. He has this incredibly... rugged, 00:02:28.199 --> 00:02:31.340 overly developed physique, like a veteran forester 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:34.099 who's been chopping wood for 40 years. And he 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:37.419 sports this legendary goatee. The goatee, yes. 00:02:37.539 --> 00:02:39.740 I mean, the texts literally say it makes him 00:02:39.740 --> 00:02:41.960 look like a man in his late 40s. Which is such 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:43.680 a brilliant piece of environmental storytelling 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:46.159 when you think about it. How so? Well, a 22 -year 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.199 -old doesn't just naturally develop the muscle 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:51.620 density of a lifelong lumberjack or, you know, 00:02:51.659 --> 00:02:53.919 the... facial weathering of a middle -aged man 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.639 without some extreme prolonged stressor oh for 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:58.639 sure it's the physical result of sheer trauma 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:02.560 and survival exactly he hasn't just aged his 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.159 body has aggressively adapted to a deeply hostile 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:07.729 environment Because he lives entirely alone, 00:03:07.969 --> 00:03:11.289 he is completely isolated on this geographical 00:03:11.289 --> 00:03:14.270 vantage point known as Barrel Hill. Which is 00:03:14.270 --> 00:03:15.969 part of the massive Terrell Mountain Range. Right. 00:03:16.370 --> 00:03:18.909 And, you know, if you are living by yourself 00:03:18.909 --> 00:03:21.509 on a solitary mountain hill, completely cut off 00:03:21.509 --> 00:03:26.030 from society, your daily life is just raw caloric 00:03:26.030 --> 00:03:29.340 burn. Hunting, surviving the elements, chopping 00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:32.439 wood. That explains the physique. It does. But 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:36.259 the facial aging. The sheer exhaustion etched 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:39.280 into his features. That speaks to the psychological 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:42.120 burden of where this hill actually is. Because 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.419 Barrel Hill isn't just some random spot in the 00:03:44.419 --> 00:03:48.419 woods. No, it provides this direct, unobstructed, 00:03:48.419 --> 00:03:51.400 frankly haunting vantage point overlooking a 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:53.960 massive city down below. A heavily fortified 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:56.919 city. Right, the city of Trotesca. Imagine waking 00:03:56.919 --> 00:03:58.860 up every single morning, stepping out your front 00:03:58.860 --> 00:04:01.280 door, and the very first thing that dominates 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:04.680 your horizon is a towering monument to your worst 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:07.020 trauma. You can't look away. You literally can't. 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:09.379 Every plume of smoke, every glint of steel down 00:04:09.379 --> 00:04:11.280 there is a trigger. I was trying to think of 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:13.139 an analogy for this, and it's kind of like. Like 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:16.300 living next to a factory. Yeah, but worse. It's 00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:19.319 like living right next door to a sprawling, oppressive 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.399 mega corporation, but it's run by a literal supervillain 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:26.160 who personally destroyed your life. And you just 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:28.459 sit on your porch staring at it all day. Exactly. 00:04:28.660 --> 00:04:31.699 Yeah. Because the city is ruled. by a ruthless 00:04:31.699 --> 00:04:35.899 tyrant. King Pochia Q. Varnese. Yes, and let 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:38.199 me just pause here because for you guys listening 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:40.360 and following the lore, we need to lock in the 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:42.959 exact pronunciation from the author's phonetic 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:45.019 guides. It's a very specific cadence. Right, 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:49.149 so it is pronounced Pochie. Cuvarnese. The Q 00:04:49.149 --> 00:04:51.449 is said just like the long letter name, and the 00:04:51.449 --> 00:04:55.430 var is like in varsity. Pochi Cuvarnese. Exactly. 00:04:55.589 --> 00:04:58.589 And the dynamic between Zerl and this tyrant 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:00.990 is just a masterclass in latent tension. Because 00:05:00.990 --> 00:05:03.310 Zerl isn't actively besieging the city, he's 00:05:03.310 --> 00:05:06.350 just watching. He's a lone brooding sentinel, 00:05:06.350 --> 00:05:09.389 and he harbors this deep, burning, all -consuming 00:05:09.389 --> 00:05:11.790 hatred for the king. And keeping strictly to 00:05:11.790 --> 00:05:14.329 our spoiler -free rule today, we are not going 00:05:14.329 --> 00:05:16.350 to get into the specifics of why. No, we won't 00:05:16.350 --> 00:05:18.430 reveal what happened in the past. But we have 00:05:18.430 --> 00:05:22.269 to make it clear that this proximity to the tyrant's 00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:26.050 domain, it's a powder keg. It's completely unstable. 00:05:26.779 --> 00:05:29.980 You cannot live your entire life as a coiled 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:32.420 spring like that. The atmospheric pressure on 00:05:32.420 --> 00:05:34.939 that hill is just dense with unexpressed violence. 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:37.199 It really is. It feels like it's just waiting 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:39.759 for a single spark to blow everything wide open. 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:42.420 Yeah. Wait a minute. Hang on. What was it? I 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:45.060 just realized something. Looking at the notes 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:47.660 for his name and his location in the broader 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:53.430 universe Bible. Zeril. Is this the same Zeryl 00:05:53.430 --> 00:05:55.670 from season one? Yes. I was wondering when you 00:05:55.670 --> 00:05:57.350 were going to catch that. Oh my gosh. From the 00:05:57.350 --> 00:05:59.370 Temporal Wars and the Whistling Swordsman. The 00:05:59.370 --> 00:06:02.269 exact same entity. The Grand Archive canon confirms 00:06:02.269 --> 00:06:04.569 it enthusiastically. But wait, wait, wait. The 00:06:04.569 --> 00:06:07.550 Zeryl from book one, he was the guy who intervened 00:06:07.550 --> 00:06:09.889 when Zeonix Novus was stuck in the middle of 00:06:09.889 --> 00:06:11.889 that historic war in the past. He was the one 00:06:11.889 --> 00:06:14.420 who pulled him out of the crossfire. Right. But 00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:17.060 the text from season one explicitly described 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:20.040 that Zerl as a, quote, master of space manipulation 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:22.959 from a connected timeline. He was literally crossing 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:26.060 dimensions. So how I mean, how does a rugged 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:29.180 guy in his early 20s living alone on a hill, 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:31.939 chopping wood and obsessing over a local tyrant 00:06:31.939 --> 00:06:35.399 become a dimension hopping master of cosmic spatial 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:38.160 physics? That is the ultimate question, isn't 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:41.000 it? It's a staggering logical gap. It is, but 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:43.019 you have to remember how meticulously managed 00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:46.160 the Neogentrix multiverse is. This isn't just 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:48.860 a universe where characters casually cameo for 00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:50.720 fan service. Right, there has to be a defined 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:53.720 evolutionary trajectory. Exactly. So this timeline 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:56.800 puzzle we're looking at, Zerol's appearance in 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:59.660 Zeonix's timeline, has to happen at some point 00:06:59.660 --> 00:07:02.120 relative to the story we are about to read. Wow. 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:05.300 So his fixation on King Percha Q. Varnis might 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:07.839 just be the embryonic stage of his development. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.300 It has to be. And for you listening, we want 00:07:10.300 --> 00:07:13.040 to be incredibly clear. This is a fun, open mystery 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:14.839 that we are all going to be looking out for as 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:16.920 we read. Yeah, we don't actually have the definitive 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:19.480 answer to how he bridges that massive gap yet. 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:22.300 Which honestly makes the analysis so much more 00:07:22.300 --> 00:07:25.259 rewarding. We get to watch this localized conflict 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:28.779 unfold while carrying the dramatic irony that 00:07:28.779 --> 00:07:31.579 this lone guy on a hill is destined for a multiverse 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:34.839 spanning legacy. Okay, my mind is completely 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:37.939 blown by that connection. But if we want to figure 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:40.240 out how he eventually manipulates space itself, 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:42.759 we have to look at his incubator, right? We have 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:44.939 to look at the physical reality of his native 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:47.120 planet. Because you don't just learn spatial 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:49.920 physics out of nowhere. The environment he interacts 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:52.439 with every day must be incredibly advanced. It 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:54.920 is deeply alien to anything we've seen so far. 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:57.500 So let's shift our focus from the topography 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:00.379 of Beryl Hill to the macrogeography of the planet 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:03.779 itself. The planet is called Elibria. Pronounced 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:07.060 Elibria. Elibria, exactly. And the cosmic geography 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:10.259 here is just wild. To visualize it properly, 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:13.079 you have to look at it from space. Elibria is 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:15.589 situated in another dimension. specifically in 00:08:15.589 --> 00:08:17.990 the Andros galaxy. And it's classified as a mystic 00:08:17.990 --> 00:08:19.949 -type planet, right. Boasting an age of over 00:08:19.949 --> 00:08:24.230 700 million years. 700 million years of uninterrupted 00:08:24.230 --> 00:08:27.069 evolution. And the visual signature of the planet 00:08:27.069 --> 00:08:30.529 completely reflects that alien age. It does not 00:08:30.529 --> 00:08:32.850 look like Earth. Not at all. It presents as this 00:08:32.850 --> 00:08:36.789 striking, vibrant, greenish -violet color from 00:08:36.789 --> 00:08:39.429 space. which implies some terrifying things about 00:08:39.429 --> 00:08:42.429 its surface if you apply basic botany and astrophysics. 00:08:42.710 --> 00:08:46.250 The violet suggests a really dense atmosphere, 00:08:46.610 --> 00:08:50.029 maybe rich in heavy gases, filtering light differently. 00:08:50.230 --> 00:08:52.470 And the overwhelming green is due to its vast, 00:08:52.649 --> 00:08:55.769 sprawling vegetation. Yeah, vegetation interwoven 00:08:55.769 --> 00:08:58.970 with incredibly dense, mountainous terrain. The 00:08:58.970 --> 00:09:01.850 biosphere is just teeming with this primal, hyper 00:09:01.850 --> 00:09:04.169 -competitive energy. But the real hook, the core 00:09:04.169 --> 00:09:06.370 mechanics of how this planet actually functions, 00:09:06.389 --> 00:09:09.529 is how that Right. The fundamental law of Alibria 00:09:09.529 --> 00:09:11.570 is that the planet's surface is cleanly divided 00:09:11.570 --> 00:09:14.409 into nine distinct regions. Nine specific biomes, 00:09:14.490 --> 00:09:16.289 basically. And each of these nine regions is 00:09:16.289 --> 00:09:19.049 governed by one of nine specific elemental attributes. 00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:20.929 Let's listen out for the listeners so they have 00:09:20.929 --> 00:09:22.809 the full scope. Okay, so we have light, dark, 00:09:23.009 --> 00:09:26.330 fire, water, ice, earth, stone, wind, and void. 00:09:26.629 --> 00:09:29.250 Now, I want to be incredibly precise here before 00:09:29.250 --> 00:09:30.909 we go any further. Oh, I know what you're going 00:09:30.909 --> 00:09:32.909 to say. Because when you hear a list like fire, 00:09:33.149 --> 00:09:36.690 water, light, dark, it's so easy to just assume... 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:41.200 This is like a standard magic cest. Yeah. I'm 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:43.620 going to stop you right there. We have to actively 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:46.340 avoid and reject that terminology completely. 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:49.120 Right. Right. There is no mysticism or spellcasting 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:51.759 here. We are not talking about incantations. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.460 It is an intricate system of elemental arts. 00:09:54.500 --> 00:09:56.639 Elemental arts. These are the physical forces 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:59.120 that literally make up the geologic and atmospheric 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:01.539 realities of the planet. It's essentially the 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:04.799 localized physics of a Libria. Exactly. If someone 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:08.179 manipulates fire in that region, they are initiating 00:10:08.179 --> 00:10:11.240 a thermodynamic reaction based on the inherent 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:14.600 physical laws of that specific area. It's a unified 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.330 field theory. Not a supernatural trick. Which 00:10:17.330 --> 00:10:19.330 is such a brilliant way to structure a world. 00:10:19.389 --> 00:10:21.450 And the granularity is fascinating too, like 00:10:21.450 --> 00:10:24.210 separating earth and stone into two different 00:10:24.210 --> 00:10:26.590 physical laws. Right, because earth would be 00:10:26.590 --> 00:10:29.409 the organic, nutrient -rich soil, while stone 00:10:29.409 --> 00:10:33.029 is the rigid, crystalline mineral lattices. Entirely 00:10:33.029 --> 00:10:35.250 different molecular bonds. Same with water and 00:10:35.250 --> 00:10:37.690 ice. There are distinct elemental forces here, 00:10:37.850 --> 00:10:40.250 not just different temperature states of the 00:10:40.250 --> 00:10:42.450 same thing. But the most crucial element for 00:10:42.450 --> 00:10:45.149 our multiverse theory. especially regarding Zerl's 00:10:45.149 --> 00:10:48.110 future. The void region. The void region. If 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:51.049 the void, the literal absence of matter, is a 00:10:51.049 --> 00:10:54.269 tangible, manipulatable, physical law on this 00:10:54.269 --> 00:10:58.049 planet, suddenly Zerl becoming a master of space 00:10:58.049 --> 00:11:00.909 manipulation makes perfect sense. He's basically 00:11:00.909 --> 00:11:03.070 growing up in a planetary laboratory for spatial 00:11:03.070 --> 00:11:06.429 physics. It's incredible. But a planet operating 00:11:06.429 --> 00:11:10.269 on nine distinct, highly volatile physical laws. 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:13.980 is inherently unstable. Highly unstable. If you 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:16.240 have a region governed purely by fire right next 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:18.679 to a region governed by water, the borders should 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:21.340 theoretically be zones of apocalyptic cataclysm. 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:23.799 Which brings us to the ultimate hook of the entire 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:27.279 series, the nine relic weapons. Yes, the artifacts 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.179 that actually keep the planet from tearing itself 00:11:29.179 --> 00:11:31.440 apart. These aren't just cool swords or shields 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:33.700 that, you know, give a warrior a stat boost. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.450 No, they are structural. They are literally scattered 00:11:36.450 --> 00:11:40.210 across these nine regions, and their entire purpose 00:11:40.210 --> 00:11:42.629 is to keep the actual elements of the planet 00:11:42.629 --> 00:11:45.179 in check. They are the regulators of a Libra's 00:11:45.179 --> 00:11:47.000 natural energy. I was trying to come up with 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.340 an analogy for this. And the best way I can describe 00:11:49.340 --> 00:11:51.500 it is that they are basically planetary load 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:53.759 bearing pillars. Like pressure release valves 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:57.000 on a massive steam engine. Exactly. The 700 million 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.899 year old elemental energy is the steam constantly 00:11:59.899 --> 00:12:02.620 building up pressure. And these relics anchor 00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:04.720 that power so it doesn't breach the surface. 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:07.440 So they enforce the physical laws. Right. But 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:09.460 that leads to a terrifying foundational question. 00:12:10.190 --> 00:12:12.990 If these weapons keep the elements in check, 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:16.470 what happens to the planet if someone unearths 00:12:16.470 --> 00:12:19.129 one or worse, destroys it? Oh, the lore is completely 00:12:19.129 --> 00:12:22.110 unambiguous on this. If a relic weapon were destroyed, 00:12:22.269 --> 00:12:24.269 its corresponding element would run completely 00:12:24.269 --> 00:12:26.610 amok and just ravage the planet's surface. So 00:12:26.610 --> 00:12:28.370 if a load -bearing pillar is kicked out, the 00:12:28.370 --> 00:12:31.110 ceiling caves in. Exactly. If the water relic 00:12:31.110 --> 00:12:33.610 is compromised, you lose the foundational laws 00:12:33.610 --> 00:12:36.610 of fluid dynamics. Oceans rise without gravity. 00:12:36.850 --> 00:12:40.090 Tidal waves drown entire continents. If the fire 00:12:40.090 --> 00:12:42.490 relic breaks, the planetary mantle essentially 00:12:42.490 --> 00:12:44.929 boils over into an endless chain of volcanic 00:12:44.929 --> 00:12:47.570 eruptions. It would be an unrestrained, localized 00:12:47.570 --> 00:12:50.289 apocalypse. the planet would consume itself. 00:12:50.570 --> 00:12:53.649 They are literal doomsday devices, but their 00:12:53.649 --> 00:12:56.549 natural state is preservation. Which forces us 00:12:56.549 --> 00:12:59.149 to look right back at our tyrant, King Pocha 00:12:59.149 --> 00:13:02.490 Q. Varnese, down in Truskesca. Yes, because, 00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:05.110 and we are strictly keeping this as a spoiler 00:13:05.110 --> 00:13:07.870 -safe teaser, we won't name any specific weapons 00:13:07.870 --> 00:13:10.889 or tribes or locations. No specifics today. But 00:13:10.889 --> 00:13:13.309 the baseline conflict of this series is that 00:13:13.309 --> 00:13:16.289 the king is actively hunting these relics. Which 00:13:16.289 --> 00:13:19.250 is just an... unfathomable level of geopolitical 00:13:19.250 --> 00:13:21.970 hubris. Right. A normal tyrant wants land and 00:13:21.970 --> 00:13:24.450 taxes. This guy wants to consolidate the pressure 00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:26.549 valves of the entire planet into his personal 00:13:26.549 --> 00:13:29.450 armory. It's a planetary race to control the 00:13:29.450 --> 00:13:31.850 nine elemental forces. And if he gets them, he 00:13:31.850 --> 00:13:34.940 holds the entire biosphere hostage. The threat 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:37.159 isn't just that his empire expands. The threat 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:39.379 is the fundamental unraveling of the planet's 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:41.740 physical laws. It is such a brilliantly layered 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:44.559 setup. You have this macro -level threat of total 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:47.200 environmental collapse driven by a tyrant's expansion. 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:49.519 And nested right inside that on the micro -level, 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:53.100 you have Zerl. sitting alone on Barrel Hill, 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:57.220 traumatized, rugged, harboring this burning hatred, 00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:00.299 just staring down at the very empire that is 00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:02.159 trying to trigger this apocalypse. He's basically 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:04.220 waiting for the match to be struck. And every 00:14:04.220 --> 00:14:06.700 single action in The Elementalist is going to 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:10.220 be driven by that insane dual tension. You know, 00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:12.799 laying all of this out really leaves me with 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:14.879 a pretty provocative final thought to mull over 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:17.059 before we wrap up today. Oh, yeah. What's that? 00:14:17.259 --> 00:14:20.299 Well, if... Zerl's destiny eventually leads him 00:14:20.299 --> 00:14:23.700 to cross dimensions and manipulate space itself 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:25.860 in the Grand Archive like we saw in season one. 00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:28.580 Yeah. How much of Elibria's elemental crisis 00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:31.700 is just a small ripple in a much larger multiverse 00:14:31.700 --> 00:14:34.679 spanning war? Oh, wow. I mean, is this planetary 00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:36.740 race for the nine relics the main event of his 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:38.700 life? Or is it literally just the training ground? 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:41.179 Is King Pochi Hugh Varnese the ultimate evil? 00:14:41.320 --> 00:14:44.220 Or is he just a tiny pawn on a cosmic chessboard 00:14:44.220 --> 00:14:47.200 that Zerl is destined to outgrow? That completely 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:50.220 recontextualizes the stakes of everything we're 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:53.340 about to read. If an elemental apocalypse is 00:14:53.340 --> 00:14:55.720 just the pressure cooker needed to forge a space 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:58.480 -manipulating entity, the scale of this deep 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:00.860 dive is just infinitely higher than it appears. 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:03.120 That's the exact lens I want everyone to see. 00:15:02.990 --> 00:15:04.830 want to bring into our next session. We're going 00:15:04.830 --> 00:15:06.769 to leave you to explore that thought on your 00:15:06.769 --> 00:15:10.289 own. Absolutely. Join us next time for our first 00:15:10.289 --> 00:15:13.470 real deep dive into the elementalist covering 00:15:13.470 --> 00:15:15.950 the prelude through Aznium, the volcanic province.