#manuchurh

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I know we're on severely limited data considering only Manuchurh appeared before a sizable chunk of soldiers BUT seeing their reaction for him seemingly returning... made me think he surely must've been well-loved? 👀

Yeah, I think so. The sight of any Marzban who had been thought dead is likely to be a huge morale boost and cause of joy for the Parsian soldiers (see the reaction to Kubard's arrival in Peshawar) but I wouldn't be surprised if Manuchurh in particular was well-regarded. The few details that are mentioned about him in the novels come well after his death, but I actually went digging for that part just now so here's a very rough translation:

'Although Manuchurh was already fifty years old when he died during the first Battle of Atropatene, according to the surviving soldiers, he sent close to twenty Lusitanian soldiers to the underworld before he perished. Not only was he a master of archery, horsemanship and swordplay, but he was also expert at sieges and field battles; an archetypical Parsian warrior. Even calligraphy of the Parsian language posed no problem for him. In addition, he had a clear and beautiful voice. On more than one occasion, Andragoras III had ordered him to read aloud declarations of war or peace edicts. Therefore Ayyar*, who inherited this bloodline, was also famous for his loud crying.' (Book 11, Chapter Three, part ii)

* in case anyone doesn't remember, Ayyar is the son of Kishward and his wife Nasrin (who is Manuchurh's daughter)

[tired-reader-writer]

So there's something I noticed with a couple marzbans in chapter 132...

At least with Khayr and Manuchurh (and perhaps Shapur, though he's not in 132), their expressions seem unchanged from the ones they seem to have been wearing upon death— as seen when their heads were on display:

Manuchurh

(does his mouth not look like it's slightly ajar here?)

Khayr

It doesn't seem to apply to all marzban, however, as Vahriz's expression changes within his one scene in the chapter and while his teeth were visible way back when his head was on display, that looked way different from this expression which looks like he's actually moving his facial muscles:

Can't say definitely about Garshasp however I find it very inch-resting to see him framed in front of a wall with the Parsian banners like so:

Considering his final sight before death:

Okay he actually seems to also have a different expression from death. Hmmm.

[innerchorus]

Arslan Senki Chapter 132

Hoooooly fuck. I knew from the chapter title (Warriors From Beyond the Grave) that some horrific stuff was going to go down, but after spending all month worrying about Isfan and Kubard facing Shapur, the fact that they don't even appear this time didn't make this one any less traumatic, lmao.

So, the contents of the other head jars were revealed as dead warriors pop up across Ecbatana. Seems as though they are the ones Team Zahhak were able to gather the heads of (the two who were missing in action at the first Battle of Atropatene are not included; presumably their bodies were never located and were left somewhere on the battlefield).

I enjoyed how Arslan does as Tahamenay asked and tells Gieve to spread the word that Andragoras died in the fall when Innocentis flung them both from the tower... and that Gieve looks at the bloody dagger on the floor. You know that he knows, his look to Daryun and Narsus before he gives his assent just confirms it, and you also know he won't breathe a word of that truth.

(And here we have the first of the dodgy translations in this chapter, because of course there's not going to be further fighting between Parsians at this point unless you count undead Parsian warriors...)

I like that we see word spreading like a ripple through the city. Zaravant's reaction of "NO FUCKING WAY" followed by "Wait, really?" was hilarious. And as we see a lot of the citizens are thinking the same; a man of Andragoras's might, toppled like that? Zaravant had a close encounter with Andragoras; it's no surprise that his first reaction is denial.

Also lol Elam, not quite lying in his attempt to uphold the official version of events. Yes, he saw him die, but not quite in the way that was reported. So Zaravant wasn't wrong, really. Not that he'll ever know it.

Rumours spreading that Arslan killed Hilmes in a duel! It does make me wonder, might the truth of Hilmes's survival be kept quiet and this rumour allowed to flourish instead? Mirroring Hilmes surviving when all thought he had perished in the palace fire, this would allow him to eventually make a quiet exit with Irina and go and live out his life peacefully beyond the borders of Pars. (I would still like to see him rule Maryam with her, though.)

Tahamenay being left alone to watch over Andragoras's body is giving me prickling feelings of imminent Team Zahhak interference...

Dark storm clouds heading towards the city in that one panel look veeeery ominous. I still keep wondering whether we are going to see any of Team Zahhak's creatures unleashed on the world. I'm not sure exactly how dark things are going to get, but we did see winged apes when the legend of Zahhak and his earlier defeat was presented in Chapter 127. So who knows?

THE FACT THAT UNDEAD VAHRIZ SHOWS UP IN THE VERY COURTYARD WHERE HE USED TO TRAIN ARSLAN! I cannot scream about this coming full circle enough, and here it is so very wrong.

But even though it's his uncle, Daryun's typically fast warrior's response saves the day and he gets in front of Arslan to defend against Vahriz's blow (and fuck, these undead warriors are fast!).

The horror just continues to mount as more and more famous undead warriors return, but wrong, so very wrong. I am really digging the way they are presented, though.

Silent, black-eyed, still bearing the wounds they wore in death on their faces, their bodies wreathed in bandages... I'm... honestly not sure that anything below the neck is even corporeal. They look like severed heads on bodies formed from sorcery, wrapped in the same sort of magic-infused cloaks that Team Zahhak wear. Even their weapons are formed from tendrils of snakes (see Kharlan's spear forming). It makes me think that when they are defeated, their bodies may just disintegrate and only the severed head will remain. And that's... fucked up, considering they are fighting people who remember them, who fought by their side, who loved them.

More off translation when Manuchurh shows up; Kishward didn't see his head (he was in Peshawar), he only heard about it. I did wonder why Gieve was so slow on the uptake given that it was his report that confirmed Manuchurh's death to Kisward and Nasrin, but he heard about it from Parsian soldiers rather than recognising Manuchurh for himself. That's why he only infers it from how Kishward addresses him here.

I do like that we get to see Manuchurh's sword here! Sure, it's probably made of snakes, but it is at least modeled on the weapon he would have wielded in life, and that's a neat detail to have so late in the story.

As always, I badly wanted to see Team Hilmes but given what's going on my heart still started to beat faster in alarm when we cut to the room they're in. But it's Sam who leaves the room and is confronted by Garshasp! An undead version of the man whose death he envies... not sure I'm ready for this but please for the love of god let Sam kill a sorcerer before this is over.

Please know that when I scrolled down just far enough to spot Kharlan's moustache I scrolled back up so fucking fast and had to sit for a bit before I could continue.

ZANDEEEEEEH. THAT'S NOT YOUR FATHER! His face and the way he says "Father?" so questioningly breaks my heart.

Hilmes sees quickly that it's not, it can't be Kharlan, because he knows Kharlan is dead, and (unlike Zandeh, who hasn't actually witnessed any sorcery yet) he knows that this is something Team Zahhak are capable of... in fact, he knows it can only be them.

For one horrible second I really thought Zandeh was going to get stabbed right in the heart. Definitely made me realise how utterly devastated I'd be if he died in the manga version.

Thankfully the wound he receives on his shoulder doesn't look life-threatening, but you can see how unprepared he is for it, how he can't quite understand why his father (IT'S NOT YOUR FATHER!) is attacking him like this. I really don't think it would have gone well for him if Hilmes hadn't gotten involved. The way these jar warriors move.. It's fast, it's unnatural, it's deadly. These were all skilled warriors in life; are they even more dangerous now they are dead?

Hilmes protecting Zandeh like this is a brilliant moment, and never have I been so fucking glad to see Hilmes in a rage as I was to see him FINALLY display some anger towards the sorcerers who he knows are responsible. He must finally see now that they are not, and never were, on his side. Sam was right, and I hope Hilmes lets him know before this is over.

I keep thinking about the way the eyes of some of the undead seem to leak blood like tears... their faces look... empty, I guess, but this does make me wonder, is there any sort of awareness there? Do they know what their bodies are being used for? That bit of blood in Kharlan's eye at the end; is there part of him that somehow knows he's attacking his son? Perhaps it's nothing more than the remains oozing blood as they are puppeted by sorcery. The thought that there might be even a fragment of consciousness there is horrific, so I truly hope not.

So yeah, no sign of the encounter with Shapur but all of the undead jar warriors have now taken to the stage, and that stage is set for some unpleasant clashes next chapter. I hope to see some Team Zahhak deaths for sure, and I'm still banking on Team Arslan capturing a mage before this is all over. I imagine the disciples are largely seen as disposable by the Holy Master at this point, but there's no way he would allow himself to be killed or captured so easily, not when he is so close to his goal.

I am worried, though. This is... a lot... for all of Team Arslan to come through unscathed. What a horrible position for them to be in, and even if their instincts tell them that they're not fighting their comrades/relatives, they're surely at a disadvantage due to the shock and emotional turmoil involved. And I'm left wondering, what are Team Zahhak up to? What's the purpose in bringing the dead back like this? Do they wish to kill, torment, or capture other warriors as snake food? Do they simply seek to cause Ecbatana to fall into chaos? Where the heck is Zahhak?

It's going to be a difficult month until the next chapter, lol.

[tired-reader-writer]

Arslan Senki Chapter 132

Received screencaps from @innerchorus , thank you for your service, and without further ado here we go!

Gieve knows. Gieve knows what Tahamenay has done. I don't know why but this is tickling my brain.

Screencap not featured but I believe there's a mistranslation on this page. Yeah that would make sense. Arslan's line, “There is to be more fighting between Parsians” I think should've been “There is to be no more fighting between Parsians” instead.

Wasn't expecting to see Tus wear such an expression but I guess this is the appropriate response for news like this.

Zaravant's reaction was funny, ngl.

Not much in terms of commentary, just interesting how rumors evolve— and makes sense considering how little information people had regarding the duel.

“queen consort” and “his majesty”. There's just something incredibly heartbreaking about how Arslan no longer calls them “mother” and “father”, though I suppose they haven't been much of parents to him in the first place. It's just. It makes it sink in, y'know? They're not his parents. Not even in name. Not anymore.

Walking through the courtyard where Arslan used to receive lessons from Vahriz, now dilapidated... I too can't believe it's been only a year in-universe since then, if even that. How long has it been for us? The manga started in 2013. It's 2024 now. Eleven years for us, even if I did join the fray somewhat late.

Sorry, I'm just getting emotional over here.

BUT THEN.

UNDEAD VAHRIZ.

OHHHHH I DO NOT LIKE THIS AT ALL. THE HEAD DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT GOES WITH THE REST OF THE BODY, ESPECIALLY NOT IN THIS PANEL.

And this panel especially shows the damage on his head. HOW ABOUT I SCREAM, ARAKAWA.

Okay, another mistranslation in the chapter, this time a line from Kishward: “I saw your head displayed at the city gates.” Kishward was not in or near Ecbatana in that time frame, he did not and could not have seen Manuchurh's head. Probably this line was meant to say: “Your head was seen displayed at the city gates.”

In any case though the soldiers get all excited to see a marzban alive (it seems Manuchurh could've possibly been well-respected and beloved? which could mean numerous things for what I have in store for him for Wolfsong...)

Not pictured but y'all. The way Manuchurh is drawn, as well... Freaky as fuck. Looks so creepy and unnatural and I do not like it.

The way he's drawn here (and I've had this thought ever since I saw undead Shapur from the previous chapter) feels like they have no body (just heads + limbs protruding from formless smoke), the posture and stuff just feels really, really unnatural, I wonder what's going on beneath those shrouds. All the undead marzban were shown with bandaged limbs, does it perhaps mean something?

OH OKAY NO THEORY IMMEDIATELY DEBUNKED. Kharlan at least seems to have a solid body from what I can tell— which would mean the unnatural posture and movements a side effect of being puppeted by Team Zahhak rather than having no corporeal body.

...maybe they move uncaring that their own bodies and bones are being harmed, they're dead after all, what is there for them to care about anymore? That would explain the unnatural vibes.

BRUH I'm gonna have nightmares for days.

Zandeh even gets injured because he was too shocked to react in time— but thankfully our Durian Denka comes to the rescue! He held Kharlan off.

And he's rightfully pissed at Team Zahhak for this. High time you realized their evilness, boy. You shouldn't have been so harsh on Saam.

[tired-reader-writer]

Considering who to put in charge of safeguarding the northeastern border of Pars against Turan and Turk before Shapur becomes a marzban and... There aren't... that many, are there? Those younger than Shapur are automatically out of the picture (Kubard, Daryun, Kishward), Bahman has been stationed at Peshawar for a long time by canon era so ?????, Kharlan, is he even a marzban ten years before canon? Even if he was, I associate him much more with the western half of Pars, if only because it would make it easier for him to coordinate with Hilmes in Lusitania (assuming no switcheroos happened like it did with Kishward, he was originally stationed at the southwestern border of Pars against Misr, but was plunked into Peshawar some time before canon).

That leaves us with... Manuchurh, Garshasph, Saam, Khurup, Khayr, and Khshaēta.

We all know what Saam looks like, estimated to be in his 40s, but here's what the other 5 look like (well we also know what Garshasph looks like too but just as a reminder):

Manuchurh:

Garshasph:

Khurup:

Khayr:

Khshaēta:

I... don't feel like Saam is a good fit for the kind of emotional beat I want to portray for one of the two pre-canon Turanian invasions (foreshadowed in chapter 2). So that leaves me with the other three. Three complete and total strangers of whom we know absolutely fucking nothing about.

Which narrows the six options down to five.

I think Khshaēta looks a tad young to have been marzban for too long, so I'm booting him out of the candidate list to make my life easier.

This leaves me with four.

I got nothing for Khurup and Khayr, we know nothing of them, but as for the other two... We know what Garshasph is like, which is, uh, kinda unpleasant, he might be a good candidate for what I'd planned, but also... Manuchurh, Nasrīn's father, Kishward's father-in-law. He purportedly had a beautiful voice and Andragoras made him do the court announcements and stuff bc of his pretty voice.

So basically, among the four candidates left, we only really know two of them.

...which one shall I pick, now?

Oh, I forgot what the emotional beat I wanted to incorporate was, it was Shapur maybe realizing the marzban in charge of the northeastern border may have been responsible for the deaths of his friends and the destruction of their village after the marzban lets slip about some “bandits or potential rebels who kidnapped people and caused unrest” which Shapur knows from talking to the clan before that the abusers or tormentors who felt entitled to their victims might have painted them that way to justify trying to hunt them down or avoid having to confront the harm they themselves have caused to their victims, and Shapur feeling... quite nauseated. Remember how Isfan immediately jumped into trying to avenge his brother in the manga. Remember how rash Shapur was even by the Battle of Atropatene. He won't do anything here, he can't, because Eihon (debuting in chapter 3! I still don't know whether the invasion would be chapter 3 or 4) has made sure to hammer the point home that doing so will only bring them doom, there's no way he can demand justice for a commoner village in the middle of nowhere who were branded as criminals.

He has to swallow his bile and work to repel the invasion. Feeling like he's failed his friends for not being able to protect them, give them a funeral, or even avenge them.

I know with this context it'd be easy for some of you to immediately pick Garshasph considering how much of an asshole he was during the siege but. What if. The emotional whiplash of it being Manuchurh. But also I could just pick Khurup or Khayr to avoid the headache altogether—

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Six jars, and six undead warriors of Pars. Marzbans Shapur, Manuchurh, Khayr, Kharlan, Garshasp, and Eran Vahriz.

[tired-reader-writer]

Reading the Shahnameh out of curiosity and for AU inspiration purposes and...

(some of these are definitely gonna be out of order since my stuff got jumbled up while transferring phones my bad)

Souroush?!

Ormuzd is Ahura Mazda, by the way. The creator deity and... sole? main? deity of Zoroastrianism, if I remember correctly. Arslan Senki seems to have made the Parsian faith polytheistic, with a whole pantheon, but Zoroastrianism was a monotheistic religion, wasn't it? But then again there seemed to be deities/semi-deities like Anita? I really need to read more about the entire thing.

Kaweh has balls of steel! And later in the tale it is mentioned that Kaweh's apron/banner has become part of Feridoun's signatures, or at least that of his army, and Kaweh's son later comes to serve under Feridoun's son and grandson as well. That's really really cool. A much better fate than what Iumaka received, in any case. Iumaka too was a blacksmith— they even crafted the chains that'd bind Zahhak, and the treasured sword Rukhnabad as well. They and Kaykhusraw (the approximate Feridoun equivalent even if Kaykhusraw's actual namesake comes up way later, and I haven't gotten that far) even had a child together, but both Iumaka and Araya the younger met untimely ends, at Kaykhusraw's own hands/command.

(This takes place before the entire Feridoun thing, by the way. Feridoun is his grandson, according to this translation)

Note to self: do look up where Cathay is. When I was reading ArSen I always wondered whether Jamshid got tossed into the Darband Inland Sea or the actual Sea sea in the south, lol.

Just pinging any mention of Alborz that catches my eye. Very relevant to my interests that both instances here involve a child being fostered by someone who lives there: the hermit and Simurgh. How the mountains are regarded as a safe haven for these two children (Feridoun and the boy who would later be named Zal). (Also Zal was born with silvery white hair and that's why he was abandoned by his father Saum.)

Feridoun had three sons, Kaykhusraw has two in canon and three in my AU. What a coincidence! Though I guess the difference is that the eldest dies instead of the youngest, a boy who didn't live long enough to even meet his half-brothers.

I feel so bad for Irij! His brothers were out for blood and he just wanted peace :( At least his kid lived and avenged him. Minuchihr, whom I'm guessing was Manuchurh's namesake?

HUH. So there were Zahhak's descendants still exist, and they were even allowed to rule! I wasn't expecting that (nor for Zahhak to even have descendants— I guess ArSen's Zahhak influenced my impression of the character a lot)

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@tired-reader-writer

Here are the two small mentions of Shapur in Book 14. I’ve removed a couple of names to avoid character death spoilers here but if you want to know who it is I can mention that in the comments or something. Tagging novel spoilers anyway just in case. 

‘Arslan considered the fact that he was not the only one to lose people who were important to him; Daryun had lost his uncle Vahriz, Isfan had lost his half-brother and saviour Shapur, to whom he owed his upbringing*, and Kishward had lost his father-in-law Manuchurh.

After making countless sacrifices, peace was at last ushered in. It must be properly protected...’

(Book 14, Chapter 2, Part i)

and

‘Even the steady and resolute Kishward could not help feeling an inexplicable sense of unease in his heart. Since [spoiler]'s unexpected death, what ought to have been flawless plans regarding who did what appeared to have begun to grow a little disordered. Furthermore, the decisive battle against the Snake King would begin next. The loss of such talented people was a great hardship. If only [different spoiler] and Shapur were still alive. Even though it was pointless, he still found himself having such thoughts.’

(Book 14, Chapter 5, Part ii)

* this is the phrase used

[tired-reader-writer]

If you have any headcanons to share about ArSen characters (either canon or your OCs) and singing, I'd love to hear! :)

Aaaaaaaa I think I got a couple! Hold up lemme try to recall them:

When Isfan is doing something, he tends to hum soft lil tunes absently. Is it a particular song? Ehh, not really. Literally just no thoughts head empty just random tunes.

Zaravant whistles a lot. I don't know why I hc him that way.

Shapur has sung lullabies to soothe a smol Isfan countless times. Perhaps even every night. It helps little Isfan sleep, and calm down after nightmares.

I somehow can't get the mental image of Daryun singing something with an evil grin and Narsus trying to shut it out being all “STOOOOP YOU MONSTER”. I don't know what Daryun would be singing to get Narsus to react like that, but it's clear he's doing it on purpose to mess with Narsus.

Isfan tends to find a melody in nature— like say, the slow pitter-patter of raindrops, some frog croaking in the distance, stuff like that. His innate connection with nature also meant that he can feel out its melody. He thinks everyone else can do it too though. Oh and sometimes his humming can be influenced by whatever he hears out there in nature.

Merlaine appreciates a good singing voice. Maybe he'd prefer softer, quieter songs, perhaps to contrast his father's (very bad) loud boisterous singing voice?

Alfarīd likes to sing, and dance too. If there's a celebration or something she'd be one of the people dancing to the joy. I think she'd make quite a merry dancer, can't tell you why though.

I think Arslan would like to sing and dance too, but is too shy to do it, afraid people might think it's improper. Somebody should push him to do it.

Sam has a nice voice, but he often doesn't know what to sing so he just doesn't. What a waste!

It's been a very long time since Hilmes sang. He last did it for Irina, perhaps under the excuse of teaching her about Parsian music or something, lol. I think a smol Hilmes before the fire may have expressed interest in picking up an instrument or something. It's just the vibes I got.

Irina looooooves music. She sings and hums a lot too, and makes cute lil noises. She always asks Militsa to sing for her, and who'd say no to a face like that?

Ayyar always pesters his grandpa to sing for him. And he always sings along too.

In Winds of Wolfsong, the clan has so. many. things. centered around song and dance. Solstices and equinoxes? Let's sing and dance! Many of their history and myths? Songs! Celebration? Song! Funeral? Song! There are games played by families or just bored colleagues where they piece random songs together or come up with lyrics on the fly or stuff like that. Just... songs.

On that note, music is thought to be the bridge between worlds, the language of all languages that transcend barriers. It's used as a medium to communicate with spirits, and they have traditional dances— dances to old and ancient melodies endeavoring to sync up the body and soul to what the song is conveying, if that makes sense? It's also a form of magic. Not every clan member is a dancer, though.

Kazai's a dancer. Arslan is too. Gieve sings, and plays the oud as in canon, but with a magical twist of course. Maybe he too uses it to ask spirits questions. Ayunnen and Kashi used to sing together under the moonlight. In this AU too Farangis sings and chants melodic prayers— just not to the Parsian gods. Isfan sings a lot more in this AU too.

Ayunnen had the gentlest, most soothing voice you've probably ever heard. Kashi's voice was... hm, how do I describe it— stronger? firmer? Something like that.

Shapur seems like someone who'd sing for his beloved.

So this seems to be all I can recall at the top of my head for now! I hope you enjoyed it!!

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Random sleepy question (hello I was napping and woke up to your post, what an evening): how well do you think the ArSen cast can sing? I've been thinking about one of my ArSen OCs and then my thoughts drifted to the canon cast. Would they like singing? Are they good at it? I've tried searching up stuff sung by the VAs (Katsuyuki Konishi was actually the first I looked, LOL) but all of the songs were... not very much to my taste. Why do VA songs tend to be very loud and shouty and stuff? Where are the quieter, softer songs? Am I just very bad at looking??? 🤣

Either way, please answer this only when you feel like it— and have a nice day!

Oh, I’ve got something good for you! There are actually a few Arslan Senki character songs, sung by the voice actors in-character! These were able to be unlocked in the Arslan Senki x Musou game, and were later released on a CD included with the sixth S1 Blu-ray/DVD release in Japan. You can listen to them here! The tracklist is as follows:

1.   Kazeshirube (風導 -kazeshirube- lit. Guided by Winds) by Arslan (CV: Yūsuke Kobayashi) 2.   Tatakai, Sore wa Kishi no Shinjitsu (戦い、それは騎士の真実 lit. Fighting, This is the Knight's Truth) by Daryun (CV: Yoshimasa Hosoya) 3.   Bigaku no Shōzō (美学の肖像 lit. A Portrait of Aesthetics) by Narsus (CV: Daisuke Namikawa) 4.   Namonaki Hoshi (名もなき星 lit. A Nameless Star) by Elam (CV: Natsuki Hanae) 5.   Koto no Hane Oto no Sora (言の羽 音の空 lit. Feathers of Words, The Sky of Sounds) by Gieve (CV: KENN)

...I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t looked for songs by Katsuyuki Konishi before. It’s been a while since I last listened to them but I remember quite liking Koran, if only because I amused myself by imagining salaryman Shapur from Corporate Warrior Arslan being persuaded to join the other Pars Corporation employees for karaoke and singing it (and of course he’d have to be drunk to do it, so drunk in fact that Kubard’s going to have to help him get home despite his protests that he’s fine). In terms of softer songs, you might like 祈念 (Kinen).

As far as canon characters go, I know of one canonically good singer (Manuchurh, he apparently had a very beautiful voice) and several bad ones (Kubard, Innocentis, Don Ricardo). There might be some others mentioned, those are just the ones I can remember. Singing is also part of Turanian culture! Burhan sings at one point and so does Jimsa. For the others, it’s not something I’ve really thought about before so I don’t have any headcanons about specific characters yet ...actually wait, I lied, I do headcanon that Gurgin has a pleasant singing voice, not that he tends to use it recreationally, or at all when he’s with Team Zahhak

I remember Farangis singing to lay the dead to rest in the anime (S1 E25). In the novel, it just says that she prays for the fallen. Perhaps melodic chanting / singing is incorporated into the work of priests and priestesses, too? I’m not sure about whether it’s directly mentioned somewhere else in the novels, but I like the idea.

Not directly related to what you’re asking, but it amuses me and I think you’ll enjoy it, too — some of Isfan’s heroic deeds later become the subject of a ballad (something like “Isfan and His Two Wolves, Protectors of the People”). I’m not sure at what stage it went from a story being recounted multiple times to being immortalised as a folk song, but on the offchance Gieve ever found out about it, I am 100% certain he sang it in Isfan’s hearing just to piss him off.

[innerchorus]

I just remembered as well that there’s this drawing of Manuchurh in the Animation Works of Arslan. I’m a big fan of seeing the minor characters get some attention!

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That page's funnyXD thx for remembering my request,I'm looking forward to it~ Shapur's saying a typical greeting on 1st meeting,the direct translation is "please treat me kindly",so in a way,you can say he's asking everyone to take care of Isfan;3 In the novel it's mentioned that singing guy has a voice that's very suitable for opera,and sometimes the king'll even ask him to give announcements(if I remember correctly),so I think that's why he's singing(btw it seems to be lapis lazuli's lyrics)

I’m going to take some new pictures of the book tomorrow (because I can do it in natural light then) so you won’t have to wait much longer. :)

Thanks for giving me some more information! Especially about Manuchurh; I love learning all these extra facts about the characters. I never would have guessed that he had a nice singing voice. And imagining him singing lyrics of Lapis Lazuli brought a smile to my face; I’m gonna imagine all of them up there cheering Arslan on (…well, maybe not all of them…some of them have to cheer for Hilmes too, and a lot of them are not even from Pars).