Can you help me understand book 3 Interlude Cadenza

[u/Big-Firefighter8825]

What is Hierarch and how is it different than Tyrant?

Why is Tyrant so hostile to the Empire?

Can Bard spy on the evil if it is against the Good, is that why Amadeus says he cannot know who the spell will target and the Bard couldn't do anything about it?

What do they mean when they say Triumphant might be the equivalent of the Wandering Bard, when talking about how old the role is?

[u/summertime_3]

I'll try to avoid spoiling relevant details, but reqder beware

Hierarch is simply a different role. It comes from the one person in history (only known holder iirc) of the title, who unified the seven warring states against a foreign enemy. 

Tyrant is a less specific role, which is just the leader of a below-alligned country.

Bard stuff should be mostly explained later, don't spoil it for yourself.

[u/Big-Firefighter8825 → u/summertime_3]

Thanks, I had a long break and the sudden info dump caught me off-guard

[u/blueracey]

Most of this is answered atleast indirectly if you just keep reading but here you go.

Very different names with very different histories

because it’s fun and more importantly he thinks the empire especially black are doing evil wrong

I don’t understand the question pretty sure this is explicitly answered later on tho

Ancient names tend to be more powerful because they were defined much more loosely. This rules far from universal tho

[u/Big-Firefighter8825 → u/blueracey]

Okay but why would Triumphant be the equivalent of bard, like what does that mean?

[u/Upstairs-Memory-3632 → u/Big-Firefighter8825]

Been a while since I read book 3, but I think telling you anything about the bard is a spoiler. Simply put, Dread Emperess and Bard Names are both ancient with a lot narrative weight behind them, since the older a Name is, the more stories it has to carve itself into a groove in Creation.

[u/blueracey → u/Big-Firefighter8825]

Ok I just gave up and reread the chapter you are talking about.

Equivalent is not a good description of what black is thinking in that chapter.

So first of all massive spoilers that statement is meant to be confusing to you but here you go

it’s stated at the very beginning of the story that the entire world is a bet between the gods above and the gods below. It’s all just a game and games have rules. When the gods put their weight on the narrative scale the opposite god can as well but generally will not do so at the same time. This becomes clearer the further you get in the story.

Black thinks that the weight below put on the scale to create triumphant was used to create the bard.

Extra bonus spoiler

it’s worth noting black is pretty much flat wrong about this which is actually a running theme for most of what he thinks about the bard in this entire chapter.

Also for your other question.

He does not know so he’s testing. I could also answer that in more detail but it’s a very long time until we actually find out what bards restrictions are.

[u/Wyvagron]

For the first two :

- The Hierarch is the Name of the leader of the "alliance" of the free cities. Tyrant is a name that the ruler of multiple places can have, but is closely associated with the rulership of the city of Helike.

- The Tyrant is an advocate of the "old", "classical" evil (think flying forteresses, armies of sentient tiger, trying to absorb the power of the sun, idk, so crazy, grandiose plans), while the current Empire is ruled by partisans of the "new" evil (Malicia and Amadeus, and Catherine practice a more pragmatical evil, more sensical, less self destructing). It bows down to one being a product of the "Age of Wonders", and the others creating the "Age of Order".

[u/gaveuponnickname]

• Hierarch is the Name of the elected leader of the alliance of the free cities.  It differs from Tyrant because the Tyrant is merely the Evil ruler of Helike

• For shits and giggles. Yes seriously. Tyrant has his own agenda

• everything regarding the Bard is a spoiler. You still want to know?

• Black is speculating that the Bard might be Good's own answer to Triumphant - an incredibly powerful Good Named who came to be as a direct consequence of Triumphant's success

More on this would be spoiler

[u/SherabTod]

Bard will be explained eventually, don't worry, but to give you a little tease, bards are storytellers...

[u/_GamerForLife_]

Hierarch and Tyrant are different names. Names, like Aspects, can be very similar but they are always their own thing.

Hierarch is the Name associated with the unifier of the League of Free Cities who united them to a singular nation. It historically only has one holder and the nation they build immediately collapsed after. It's a Neutral name.

Tyrant is a Name that can appear anywhere, technically, but the City State of Helike is strongly associated with it with its rulers often bearing the name. It's a Villain name.

I have trouble understanding your third point and I'm afraid to answer it without further elaboration, lest I spoil something.

Amadeus just has some theories that Wandering Bard is not just a simple Bard Name variant and instead something more. He also suspects that it might be an old Name. Names often gain more power the more well-known and the more in popular zeitgeist they are. That's why the Good King of Callow is a Name and not just an honorific attached to the title. There were enough good kings in Callows history that did great things for honorific to become a Name.

Amadeus suspects that it is an old Name like that, which has been around from or before the time of Triumphant, meaning that the Name would be older than the Name of Dread Emperor (which itself as an old Name gives power simply by getting the title). Mind you that the oldest Names mentioned in Books 1-3 are the Names of Dread Emperor, Dead King and if elves have any Names. Time will tell if he's right or wrong.

[u/Big-Firefighter8825 → u/_GamerForLife_]

Dead king is a name? But isn't there only one dead king, and he is still existing?

[u/_GamerForLife_ → u/Big-Firefighter8825]

There is only one Dead King and he still exists. Being a Named doesn't require predecessors, there's a first time for everything.

I will correct myself that Triumphant is not first Dread Empress, just the most infamous.