Sorthist's wasps
Sorthist's wasps are a supernatural weapon named in the succession conflict of the early imperial period, deployed by Sorthist, the 'Serpent's Fang', against his brother Oparan in their struggle for the throne. The wasps succeeded in destroying Oparan's physical sight entirely, rendering him permanently blind in the outer eyes, yet they "had not been able to touch the inner eye" - the faculty by which Oparan would thereafter perceive the world through means other than physical vision - ch 13.
The weapon's significance to the series lies in its role as the origin of Oparan's blindness, a defining physical and spiritual condition of one of the imperial contenders. That the wasps were named for their wielder marks them as an idiosyncratic, possibly personal form of sorcery rather than a generic magical category. Across the single appearance in Days of Shattered Faith, the wasps function as a completed act: the attack has already occurred by the time the text references it, and no further use, variation, or development of the weapon is described.
The System
How It Works
The text records only the outcome of the wasps' action: they destroyed Oparan's physical sight while leaving his inner eye intact - ch 13. The precise mechanism by which they achieved this selective destruction - how the outer eye was annihilated while the inner eye was preserved - is not specified in the source. Their nature, origin, and method of delivery likewise remain unstated; the book offers no further mechanical or ontological detail about the wasps themselves - ch 13.
Who Operates It
The wasps are named for Sorthist, the 'Serpent's Fang', and the attack is described as directed against Oparan during the fratricidal succession conflict in which the two fought as brothers for the throne - ch 13. Sorthist is thus the sole named wielder. The text characterises the wasps as "an instrument wielded by one contender against another," placing their use squarely within the context of imperial civil war - ch 13.
Limits & Costs
The wasps' single stated limitation is their inability to affect the inner eye: whatever perceptual or spiritual faculty Oparan possessed beyond physical sight, the wasps "had not been able to touch" - ch 13. No cost to the wielder, no requirement for repeated deployment, and no broader ecological or spiritual consequence of their use are recorded in the source.
History
Days of Shattered Faith
Sorthist's wasps are named in Days of Shattered Faith as the supernatural assault that blinded Oparan. The attack is described as having been directed against Oparan during the succession conflict in which Sorthist, the 'Serpent's Fang', and Oparan fought as brothers for the throne; the wasps succeeded in destroying Oparan's physical sight but "had not been able to touch the inner eye" - ch 13. The book offers no further mechanical or ontological detail about the wasps themselves: their nature, origin, method of delivery, or the precise mechanism by which they destroyed the outer eye while leaving the inner eye intact remain unspecified. What the text establishes is only the attack's outcome - permanent blindness of the physical eyes, with the inner eye preserved - and its political context, as an instrument wielded by one contender against another in a fratricidal struggle for the throne - ch 13.
Relationships
- Oparan - the target of the wasps' attack and the permanent victim of their effect. The weapon destroyed his physical sight and defined his condition for the remainder of the succession conflict and beyond - ch 13. - Sorthist, the 'Serpent's Fang' - the wielder against whom the wasps are named. The attack was directed at his brother Oparan during their mutual contest for the throne - ch 13.
Notable Quotes
- "had not been able to touch the inner eye" - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 13
Tags
- supernatural-attack · #blinding · #basilisk-wasps