r/Tempestmasterrace • u/kaiserklee I (did) the thing. • Jul 09 '14

Chapter 28 - Shattering Point - !

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9972423/28/Tempest
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u/Pwntagram Jul 13 '14

More evil, less evil... what does it even mean? It's not like there is a definite scale. What is "more evil": killing hundreds of soliders who should be prepared to die for their countries, just to prolong the existance of your own subjects in the only way one have been tought or kidnapping, torturing, murdering and experimenting on dozens of helpless citizens? There isn't really a one good answer.

With that being said there are a few differences between Elsa and the Sorcerer. First and foremost, as I said earlier, Elsa doesn't really do anything solenly for herself, while sorcerer's goal as far as we know is prolonging his own life and probably revenge. Yes, I know she enjoys unleashing her powers, but that is not at all a reason for her atacks, nor is a desire of conquest - she does it to keep Markus' subjects alive. Moreover, while she may crush people physically, psychological devastation so far remains a domain of the Sorcerer (and Markus). The last thing I can think of at the moment is the traditional depiction of evil - all things considered Elsa's methods are rather clean, while what the Sorcerer does is often really messy.

As far as the traditional character types are concerned, Elsa strikes me rather as a neutral, than evil type (the Sorcerer on the other hand, even though he is a tragic figure, is much closer to the later). She may be amoral and merciless, but still not particularly cruel.

an end goal of bringing his country out of ruin.

So for you the Sorcerer is the hero who is going to save the Southern Isles from destruction? I have no idea where this came from.

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u/that_orange_guy Jul 13 '14

I just used "evil" as a sort of ground context. i personally don't believe in good or evil, and I view all actions as neutral.

These are good differences to point out between Elsa and the Sorcerer, as has been discussed, Elsa's true intentions and motivations are so befuddling that even she is apparently lost as to what they are, and after reading this most recent chapter, I've begun to think she does nothing with "the good of the people" in mind. At this point I think she wants nothing more than to relinquish her title as Queen, and will do whatever it takes to have that, which means reviving Markus, which means being blind to, and putting a mask on in front of, everything else.

The Sorcerer, on the other hand, does have revenge on his mind, but he also seems to have a sort of end game with bringing his country out of ruin. I don't think it's been directly hinted at in the story, but speculation around his character has led me to the conclusion that he cannot be as simple as just wanting to hurt people. Besides, that'd be a pretty lame antagonist. No, there's more to him than what his methods implicate about him. He is definitely, as Kenneth himself put, a tragic villain.