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redfiona99Title: We All Began As Something Else
Fandom: Chronicles of Riddick
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, I think they're Universal's. Whoever the characters belong to, I am not making money off this.
Characters: The Purifier
Rating: 15
Notes: Some dialogue taken straight from the film.
Tags: Canonical character death, canon-typical violence, canonical suicidal ideation, spoilers
Summaries: A series of choices have lead him here.
If he'd been a good Furyan, he'd have been dead already. He would have died in Furya's defence, the way everyone else he'd ever known had. But he'd never been a good Furyan.
It wasn't that the Furyans didn't have art and culture, they had a fine line in martial poetry but he never had a taste for marching rhythm. He's not strong enough to fight, or diligent enough to teach.
He was still standing when the Necromongers rounded up the few survivors. He later discovers how many fewer survivors Furya had than most planets, even later he discovers why.
The Necromongers made their usual offer and he is the only one who kneels. Better kneeling than dead, or so he thought. That was his last image of Furya, the look of disgust on everyone else's face, a look they manage to maintain as they are cut down by the Necromongers.
He can live with it. At least he's alive.
He can live with it, he'll have to.
With the Necromongers, he learns about pain. On Furya, pain was a physical thing, a sign you had trained hard or fought well. Among the Necromongers, pain was a mental thing, to be ignored and overcome, to be given so people could be taught to ignore it. It was a thing of the flesh, to be derided the way all things of the flesh should be, in order for you to be pure for the Underverse.
He is good at this. Furyan training made you impervious to the suffering of others, and the Necromongers approved of his lack of empathy. He rises in their ranks, despite his weakness, despite his fear. Or maybe because of it, he's so terrified that he will be found out that he works twice as hard. He becomes the sharpened axe of the faith.
He discovers he is among friends. Well, he discovers he is among people who are just as scared of death than he is. He hides it better than they do, and they fear him for his zeal.
He is raised to the position of Purifier, authorised to root out those who do not believe, or do not believe enough. He knows exactly what to look for, because what is he, if not exactly the kind of person he is supposed to find?
That knowledge, of what his own weakness looks like in others, makes him successful and he rises to the position of Purifier of the Fleet. No one may countermand his orders, save the Lord Marshal himself, and no one may question his methods. He knows lots of the lords and ladies would like to, shocked at such a weakling rising to the level of Purifier, but his role, as long as he holds his nerve, is impregnable. He is the Faith made undying flesh.
Flesh that crawls when faced with the Lord Marshal. All that he is hates the Lord Marshal. He hates the Lord Marshal for his weakness, his lack of fitness for the role. How can a Necromonger Lord Marshal be scared of death, how dare such a coward destroy Furya?
The Purifier's cowardice remained a problem. He has no way of using this information to destroy the Lord Marshal. He has no way of using this information to destroy the Lord Marshal. Even as Purifier of the Fleet, who would believe him if he said the Lord Marshal was scared of death? It's not like he has evidence, just feelings and recognition. Even if anyone believed him, he is unlikely to survive the Necromonger civil war that would follow, and if he did, the most likely outcome was someone stabbing him in the back either for his original betrayal, no matter that he did it to protect the Necromonger creed, or because he might do it again, because he and the Lord Marshal are not alone in their terror of death.
There is no point making a direct attack either, he would be just as dead. He doesn't want to die, all his suffering and the suffering he's inflicted on others, it's all to avoid that.
Because he is a weakling, he plots and he seethes and he doesn't do anything.
Until Helion Prime.
The Purifier makes his speech, and the Lord Marshal shows his powers because no one ever listens before then, and until that point, everything is as it always is.
And then Riddick.
The Purifier doesn't know why, other than his entrance killing Irgun, but he is drawn to Riddick, the way they all seem to be. Something about him calls to the Purifier.
Dame Vaako tricks Riddick into the Hall of the Quasi Dead and then the Purifier finds out why he is so drawn to him. Another Furyan lives. But he must have been a babe in arms when the Purifier converted.
Whatever Riddick is, he scares the Lord Marshal enough that he sends Vaako after him. And that starts the whispers amongst his lords. They smell weakness and the Necromongers do not tolerate weakness.
Riddick scares the Lord Marshal enough to make him show weakness to the most pitiful of his lieutenants. Because the Lord Marshal knows, even given this task, given the evidence of the Lord Marshal's great weakness, the Purifier will not strike at him.
But it is also clear that the Lord Marshal does not recall what the Purifier was before. This fits in with the Necromonger way, he is one of a thousand converts from a thousand destroyed worlds. What he was before doesn't matter, he is a Necromonger now. But a Furyan can no more abide this sort of weakness than a Necromonger can.
The Purifier knows his presence on Vaako's ship disturbs Vaako, even if Vaako does not know his true mission. If Vaako knew his mission, well, it's not clear whether he would kill the Purifier or turn the ship around and kill the Lord Marshal, or both.
Vaako is what a Necromonger should be. He would make an excellent Lord Marshal if … the Purifier finds himself calculating like an Elemental, what if he did this, what if he did that. Strange thoughts and potential events whiz around his brain, synapses long dead activating, dreams of … what, to be the man who kills the Lord Marshal, never. But he may be able to speed it along. And Vaako, true believer, loyal enough, ambitious only to the extent that he would try to replace a lesser man not a worthy one, would satisfy the Purifier as a Lord Marshal. Because he is a Necromonger now.
He needs to remember that, no matter his doubts. He made his choice, he has to live with it.
He hangs in the back as Vaako leads his men to kill Riddick before the plain begins to burn. Even so, he is enveloped in the force of Furya's rage.
He is not pushed back, not the way the others are, because he is a Furyan, but he is affected in ways that the others are not. He is awakened. Because a son of Furya will lead to the Lord Marshal's downfall. He doesn't have to kill him, he just needs to put Riddick in a position to do it.
He was born to do this.
He pulls Riddick to safety. "I was supposed to deliver a message to you... if Vaako failed to kill you. A message from the Lord Marshal himself. He tells you to stay away from Helion, stay away from him, and in return, you'll be hunted no more. But Vaako will most likely report you as dead. So this is your chance. Your chance to do what no man has ever done."
Riddick grabs him by the shoulder. He cares only for the girl. Riddick is no more a good Furyan than the Purifier is, focusing on one above the many. It's something, isn't it, that the best chance of Furya's revenge is two men who it would have hated. The Purifier needs to convince Riddick, and he has only one way. He shows him the pulsing, beating hand, shows him that he is Furyan too. It's painful, like some part of his body is trying to rip itself out of him to get its revenge.
"We all began as something else." Both of them are not the men they would have been if the Lord Marshal hadn't destroyed Furya. "I've done unbelievable things in the name of a faith that was never my own. And he'll do to her what he did to me." She might try to fight it, but the Necromongers don't care. All will be converted. All will join the crusade to the Underverse. "The Necromonger in me warns you not to go back. But the Furyan in me ... hopes you won't listen." And that's the rub. He's not a Furyan, every action he's ever taken speaks of that. But he's an awful Necromonger too. He has never lived up to a single part of their creed. But then again, neither has the Lord Marshal and now is his chance to help avenge Furya and rid the Necromongers of the unworthy. The Purifier can make amends to all he has ever pretended to be. "God knows... I've dreamed of it."
This is his apotheosis.
And all such glory comes at a price.
There is nothing left for him to do. Riddick is Furya's hope. Vaako is the Necromongers'. His money is on Riddick but he does not belong in either of their worlds. He'll either meet the Underverse or the Hall of Heroes, but he will do it as himself.
He has finished stripping himself of the Purifier's effects. Now is the time to walk.
Endnotes: The Purifier has always been the most interesting thing about Chronicles of Riddick to me. I remain fascinated by how they dress him compared to the rest of the male Necromongers, and how he isn't the space Spartan we're lead to believe the Furyans were.
(Many more Purifier thoughts here - https://redfiona99.dreamwidth.org/1031698.html , I will finish that series of posts some day)
Fandom: Chronicles of Riddick
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, I think they're Universal's. Whoever the characters belong to, I am not making money off this.
Characters: The Purifier
Rating: 15
Notes: Some dialogue taken straight from the film.
Tags: Canonical character death, canon-typical violence, canonical suicidal ideation, spoilers
Summaries: A series of choices have lead him here.
If he'd been a good Furyan, he'd have been dead already. He would have died in Furya's defence, the way everyone else he'd ever known had. But he'd never been a good Furyan.
It wasn't that the Furyans didn't have art and culture, they had a fine line in martial poetry but he never had a taste for marching rhythm. He's not strong enough to fight, or diligent enough to teach.
He was still standing when the Necromongers rounded up the few survivors. He later discovers how many fewer survivors Furya had than most planets, even later he discovers why.
The Necromongers made their usual offer and he is the only one who kneels. Better kneeling than dead, or so he thought. That was his last image of Furya, the look of disgust on everyone else's face, a look they manage to maintain as they are cut down by the Necromongers.
He can live with it. At least he's alive.
He can live with it, he'll have to.
With the Necromongers, he learns about pain. On Furya, pain was a physical thing, a sign you had trained hard or fought well. Among the Necromongers, pain was a mental thing, to be ignored and overcome, to be given so people could be taught to ignore it. It was a thing of the flesh, to be derided the way all things of the flesh should be, in order for you to be pure for the Underverse.
He is good at this. Furyan training made you impervious to the suffering of others, and the Necromongers approved of his lack of empathy. He rises in their ranks, despite his weakness, despite his fear. Or maybe because of it, he's so terrified that he will be found out that he works twice as hard. He becomes the sharpened axe of the faith.
He discovers he is among friends. Well, he discovers he is among people who are just as scared of death than he is. He hides it better than they do, and they fear him for his zeal.
He is raised to the position of Purifier, authorised to root out those who do not believe, or do not believe enough. He knows exactly what to look for, because what is he, if not exactly the kind of person he is supposed to find?
That knowledge, of what his own weakness looks like in others, makes him successful and he rises to the position of Purifier of the Fleet. No one may countermand his orders, save the Lord Marshal himself, and no one may question his methods. He knows lots of the lords and ladies would like to, shocked at such a weakling rising to the level of Purifier, but his role, as long as he holds his nerve, is impregnable. He is the Faith made undying flesh.
Flesh that crawls when faced with the Lord Marshal. All that he is hates the Lord Marshal. He hates the Lord Marshal for his weakness, his lack of fitness for the role. How can a Necromonger Lord Marshal be scared of death, how dare such a coward destroy Furya?
The Purifier's cowardice remained a problem. He has no way of using this information to destroy the Lord Marshal. He has no way of using this information to destroy the Lord Marshal. Even as Purifier of the Fleet, who would believe him if he said the Lord Marshal was scared of death? It's not like he has evidence, just feelings and recognition. Even if anyone believed him, he is unlikely to survive the Necromonger civil war that would follow, and if he did, the most likely outcome was someone stabbing him in the back either for his original betrayal, no matter that he did it to protect the Necromonger creed, or because he might do it again, because he and the Lord Marshal are not alone in their terror of death.
There is no point making a direct attack either, he would be just as dead. He doesn't want to die, all his suffering and the suffering he's inflicted on others, it's all to avoid that.
Because he is a weakling, he plots and he seethes and he doesn't do anything.
Until Helion Prime.
The Purifier makes his speech, and the Lord Marshal shows his powers because no one ever listens before then, and until that point, everything is as it always is.
And then Riddick.
The Purifier doesn't know why, other than his entrance killing Irgun, but he is drawn to Riddick, the way they all seem to be. Something about him calls to the Purifier.
Dame Vaako tricks Riddick into the Hall of the Quasi Dead and then the Purifier finds out why he is so drawn to him. Another Furyan lives. But he must have been a babe in arms when the Purifier converted.
Whatever Riddick is, he scares the Lord Marshal enough that he sends Vaako after him. And that starts the whispers amongst his lords. They smell weakness and the Necromongers do not tolerate weakness.
Riddick scares the Lord Marshal enough to make him show weakness to the most pitiful of his lieutenants. Because the Lord Marshal knows, even given this task, given the evidence of the Lord Marshal's great weakness, the Purifier will not strike at him.
But it is also clear that the Lord Marshal does not recall what the Purifier was before. This fits in with the Necromonger way, he is one of a thousand converts from a thousand destroyed worlds. What he was before doesn't matter, he is a Necromonger now. But a Furyan can no more abide this sort of weakness than a Necromonger can.
The Purifier knows his presence on Vaako's ship disturbs Vaako, even if Vaako does not know his true mission. If Vaako knew his mission, well, it's not clear whether he would kill the Purifier or turn the ship around and kill the Lord Marshal, or both.
Vaako is what a Necromonger should be. He would make an excellent Lord Marshal if … the Purifier finds himself calculating like an Elemental, what if he did this, what if he did that. Strange thoughts and potential events whiz around his brain, synapses long dead activating, dreams of … what, to be the man who kills the Lord Marshal, never. But he may be able to speed it along. And Vaako, true believer, loyal enough, ambitious only to the extent that he would try to replace a lesser man not a worthy one, would satisfy the Purifier as a Lord Marshal. Because he is a Necromonger now.
He needs to remember that, no matter his doubts. He made his choice, he has to live with it.
He hangs in the back as Vaako leads his men to kill Riddick before the plain begins to burn. Even so, he is enveloped in the force of Furya's rage.
He is not pushed back, not the way the others are, because he is a Furyan, but he is affected in ways that the others are not. He is awakened. Because a son of Furya will lead to the Lord Marshal's downfall. He doesn't have to kill him, he just needs to put Riddick in a position to do it.
He was born to do this.
He pulls Riddick to safety. "I was supposed to deliver a message to you... if Vaako failed to kill you. A message from the Lord Marshal himself. He tells you to stay away from Helion, stay away from him, and in return, you'll be hunted no more. But Vaako will most likely report you as dead. So this is your chance. Your chance to do what no man has ever done."
Riddick grabs him by the shoulder. He cares only for the girl. Riddick is no more a good Furyan than the Purifier is, focusing on one above the many. It's something, isn't it, that the best chance of Furya's revenge is two men who it would have hated. The Purifier needs to convince Riddick, and he has only one way. He shows him the pulsing, beating hand, shows him that he is Furyan too. It's painful, like some part of his body is trying to rip itself out of him to get its revenge.
"We all began as something else." Both of them are not the men they would have been if the Lord Marshal hadn't destroyed Furya. "I've done unbelievable things in the name of a faith that was never my own. And he'll do to her what he did to me." She might try to fight it, but the Necromongers don't care. All will be converted. All will join the crusade to the Underverse. "The Necromonger in me warns you not to go back. But the Furyan in me ... hopes you won't listen." And that's the rub. He's not a Furyan, every action he's ever taken speaks of that. But he's an awful Necromonger too. He has never lived up to a single part of their creed. But then again, neither has the Lord Marshal and now is his chance to help avenge Furya and rid the Necromongers of the unworthy. The Purifier can make amends to all he has ever pretended to be. "God knows... I've dreamed of it."
This is his apotheosis.
And all such glory comes at a price.
There is nothing left for him to do. Riddick is Furya's hope. Vaako is the Necromongers'. His money is on Riddick but he does not belong in either of their worlds. He'll either meet the Underverse or the Hall of Heroes, but he will do it as himself.
He has finished stripping himself of the Purifier's effects. Now is the time to walk.
Endnotes: The Purifier has always been the most interesting thing about Chronicles of Riddick to me. I remain fascinated by how they dress him compared to the rest of the male Necromongers, and how he isn't the space Spartan we're lead to believe the Furyans were.
(Many more Purifier thoughts here - https://redfiona99.dreamwidth.org/1031698.html , I will finish that series of posts some day)
