Brooklyn needs to find the Phoenix Gate. Too bad half of it is stuck in a stone pouch with Goliath. The other half belongs to Demona. But he has more to worry about: the armies are ready to fight. Now Brooklyn must talk Demona into helping the Scots.
Miss last week’s? Read The Gate review.
Spoilers are in the 20/20 moments. Info from Ask Greg is in the According to Greg bits.
Gargoyles Clan-Building: Chapter Eleven: “Tyrants”
Reason(s) for existence: To further the story of our players before City of Stone.
Main antagonist(s): Constantine and Co
Time(s): 997 AD
Location(s): Scotland
We carry on with last week’s story. The pseudo cover is Brooklyn looking at his stone self. Brooklyn is riding with Mary and Finella to the gates of Wyvern Castle. Brooklyn has come here to see if he can get the Phoenix Gate out of Goliath’s belt pouch. You see, Goliath and Demona split the Phoenix Gate as part of their wedding or mating vows. She has half and Goliath has half, but he’s got it in a pouch. Brooklyn also wants the gate partly to protect Finella and Mary, who have the Grimorum Arcanorum. He can’t let it fall into the wrong hands.
In another castle, Constantine is cutting his hair. Apparently this has some significance. He’s getting a really nice shave with a dagger. By himself. He says that it creates the proper canvas.
Gillecomgain is holding the mirror.
Mail Brigti shows up at the king’s summons. Their enemies are rallying with the Irish forces. The king says he will follow Mail. Turns out this guy is the father of Gillcomgain. The king wants the boy to stay.
Brother Valmont is also there. The king brags to him that their forces will crush the enemies. He will
silence the male line of the “Three Brothers” once and for all.
Brother Valmont says he has read the entrails of half the goats in Scotland. The Magus and Princess Katherine have left this world and pose no threat. Wait a minute, if he’s telling the truth, and he got this information from reading entrails, then that’s a legitimate way of knowing things. That’s freaky.
Valmont says the Grimorum is in Scotland.
Brooklyn walks through the traumatizing scene of his Clan’s destruction. He has a sword with him. It’s the same one he took from the guard. He finds a sheath for it. Note that his wings are folded differently. This is how he had them in a Future Tense.
Mary wants to know about Tom. Brooklyn says Tom is fine, and he’s married.
Mary freaks out.
Brooklyn decides that he should probably keep his mouth shut from now on. However, he knows that Goliath says the timestream is inviolable. This is why I love the Gargoyles way of time travel. I think the real-time stream is also inviolable.
Sure enough, G’s belt pouch is stone. Brooklyn says it’s from the humility spell. That’s the spell that turns their clothes to stone. He can’t risk cracking it open, since it might crack Goliath.
Cut to Demona. She’s coming back to a cave to see her clan. She says the entire Sruighlea Cell is dead. Seven gargoyles and a beast reduced to rubble by humans. The gargoyles in her Clan say they should hold a wind ceremony. Demona thinks they should just kill the killers.
The Moal and Co are arguing over whether they should use the gargoyles to help them. That’s when Mary and Finella roll up.
Kenneth’s son is no fan of Finella, since Constantine used her to help kill King Kenneth. But now they should let animosity go, she says.
The Grim agrees.
That night, Brooklyn is telling them where to send the army. He’ll send reinforcements. He’s going to have to get Demona to help. If he can keep his temper in control.
Mary asks if he knows what’s going to happen. He says he doesn’t. Too much TV and not enough history books. Then he breaks the fourth wall and says that because we “never know when a giant flaming magical time-traveling bird is going to swallow you whole and spit you out in the 10th century, kids should hit the books.” Words to live by.
Brooklyn finally locates Demona. She’s rather surprised to see him, especially since he’s still enraged at her. But this is a different Demona than what we’re used to.
She says she thinks he’s from Wyvern. He admits he is. He says he needs her help.
Finella is shocked the Grim’s side has not a single source. She doesn’t know magic either, but she does know Latin. She thinks she might be able to duplicate some of the actions that Magus did while he was saying a spell. Well, that doesn’t sound dangerous at all. Mary, who has common sense, points that out.
A messenger from the Grim’s side comes to Constantine and says they will meet him in battle. Constantine has the guards kill the messenger.
Constantine paints his face in the manner of the Hunter’s mask.
The forces are drawn up to face each other.
They all run in. There’s chaos.
Constantine outflanks the Grim. But that’s before the gargoyles show up to rain death from above.
Final Thoughts
Another short one, I know. But this is like having an ep broken into three parts. Or an ep and a half at most. In this section, Brooklyn tries and fails to get the Gate. He succeeds in getting Demona. Constantine shaves his head and puts on makeup like a moody teen. The armies clash.
There weren’t many villains in this one, either. Yes, Constantine and a young Gillecomgain. Demona isn’t an antag yet, remember. It’s all pretty standard middle ages battling.
Tune in Tuesday: Tune in next week when we find out what happens with our time-traveling Brooklyn.
Thoughts? Comment!
I’d argue that Demona is an antagonist here. She’s plotting betrayal and the conquest of Scotland.
But right now she’s not quite at that level, so… And she’s not attacking Brooklyn.