Arslan Senki – 16

“That still only counts as one.“

Well, that was a quick war, over in one episode and one battle. But what a battle it was….

All of our players in the Sindhuran conflict have come to the playing field. However, it is instantly seen that there is a numbers issue here. Prince Gadevi has more than 150,000 soldiers in his army, while Pars’ forces only total 10,000 and Rajendra’s 50,000. However, if there’s one thing that’s been proven by now in this series, it’s that power levels numbers are bull crap, especially if you have Narsus on your side. Unfortunately Gadevi doesn’t know that, and refuses to listen to Jaswant’s report of the “master tactician”…well, you can’t say he wasn’t warned.

Blue and red, cold and hot, rich and poor

But let’s back up to the fight with which this battle actually involves, Gadevi and Rajendra. We learn some important things in regards to their characters this episode. Firstly, we find out that Gadevi is probably more unpleasant than his brother, and he’s pretty unforgiving and ruthless. He’s also rather blue-blooded as well, both as a cold individual, and an entitled one. It’s pointed out that while both are princes, one was born of a noble, while the other was born of a slave. To Gadevi, that again reaffirms that he is the better choice as heir to the throne. However, Rajendra doesn’t agree, and thinks that social breeding should have nothing to do with one’s capabilities to be king.

Through this little bit of knowledge we can kind of get a better idea as to the characters of the two princes and why they act the way they do. We also find out that their father never named Gadevi “Crown Prince” even though he is the firstborn. In most cultures, this is usually a given, as with the case of Hermes or Arslan, both being firstborn (technically the only born) and thus named crown prince and heir apparent. To see that the king of Sindhura purposefully did not name Gadevi as the crown prince, does strike a major blow against the prince’s character. What was it about him that made the king go against, what is pretty much a no-brainer in every other monarchical society?

What do you think Your Highness? Which way shall I defeat them this time? 

Well really, the entire Sindhuran royal male lineage seems to have major character flaws. The king can’t make authoritative decisions, Gadevi is a pompous, callous idiot who tries to win every battle with nothing but force and thus has never won a single battle, and Rajendra is foolish, immature, reckless, and doesn’t think things through well.

There’s really no good choices all around. Yet, again, to pick the better of the two evils, even now that we’re more informed, I think that we’d still have to go with Rajendra. His character issues actually seem more like they could be fixed with more experience and maturity, as well as having some good advisors and friends to guide him. Gadevi depends entirely on his sense of self-entitlement and he thinks of everyone else as beneath him. He expects everything to turn out in his favor simply because that is the way it should be. He treats those that are loyal to him and those that are against him with the same amount of deference–namely, none.

Yep, I fight my battles in luxury.

Does this sound familiar? It should, since this has been a theme that’s been filtering throughout the series. What makes Arslan different from his father? From Hermes? Both Arslan and Rajendra come from somewhat humble beginnings despite being princes, with Arslan having grown up a commoner, and Rajendra, the son of a slave. This background gave them the ability to have more empathy and kindness towards those under them when they came to power under their royal positions, as well as a sense of justice when they sense something about their society isn’t right. The royals that were born to privilege, like Gadevi and Hermes know nothing but their aristocratic upbringing and either they have lost or never had, the ability to empathize beyond that point of view.

It’s okay, I think he’s an idiot too.

Both Jaswant and his master, Mahendra are beginning to rethink supporting Gadevi as it’s clear that the man has no knowledge of tactics, won’t listen to others, and has a pretty nasty temper. Jaswant will follow whatever Mahendra’s lead is, and the grand vizier is pretty stuck in the position he has now. It’s also clear in this episode, why Jaswant was so loyal to the man in the first place. Even after being saved by a foreign prince’s order twice now, it’s his own royal that threatens to kill Jaswant after his blunder last episode. However, Mahendra comes to his defense more than once and indeed acts like a father figure to the man, comforting him that it wasn’t his fault. He was just up against Narsus, and that never goes well.

I don’t know how this will eventually end, but I do fear for the old advisor since it would take nothing but the man’s death, to have Jaswant leave his side. And as we know he will be later joining Arslan’s entourage…again, it doesn’t spell out good things for Mahendra in the future.

But that’s something that can be talked about later.

Did Ant-man just shrink my army? 

Right now, we can take a look at the battle itself that takes up most of the episode. We see Gadevi and Rajendra go against each other’s forces, but it quickly becomes clear that neither of them is really good in the tactics department. Rajendra’s army attacks his half-brother’s head on, and Gadevi does the same. The river between the two does make up a bit for the huge differences in the numbers, but when the first prince releases the drugged, frenzied war elephants against them, they’ve pretty much lost. Gadevi relies completely on the war elephants to win his battle, while Rajendra doesn’t really know what to do with his army, other than for them to face their opponents head on. And when word hits him that the Pars army is caught in a siege held by the other half of Gadevi’s forces, he’s pretty much given up hope against having any chance to win against the more powerful forces.

When you bet against Narsus, even the dummies will laugh at you. 

However, he has once again, underestimated the power of the human ace-up-the-sleeve that is Narsus. Having already planned out the many ways this battle could go, and because his opponents don’t use anything by the the most rudimentary of military strategy, the master tactician is able to out think both princes and not only trick the enemy into wasting time with a siege against a mostly empty fortress, but is able to move their troops completely unnoticed to join Rajendra’s depleted forces and give them much needed reinforcements in the vein of Gandalf riding from the east with the riders of Rohan during the climax of the Battle of Helm’s Deep.

“At dawn, look to the east.”

From there, it is up to Daryun and his forces to do what they do best, as they show why Pars is known for having the most powerful armies and warriors. It isn’t because of strength alone, but also because they are a unified force that can move as one on a dime, and have trained to adapt easily to new and varied opponents on the field. They remind me once again of Lord of the Rings, and the obvious differences between the human armies and the elven armies. While one moves as several bodies in a frenzy against foes, the other moves like a sleek, single unit that can cut down whatever forces are in their path. Also, having known about the war elephants from a scout’s report, Narsus was able to coordinate with the army to take down the gargantuan menaces in a trap, making use of the quite obvious weaknesses of using a drugged-up elephant as a weapon.

And just where do you think you’re going? 

The war ends with Gadevi escaping by barely the skin of his teeth, thanks to a save by Jaswant (though he’d rather smash the man’s face in the ground, than say “thank you”). And Arslan and the Parsian armies literally turn the entire course of the battle and win the day. But the two princes’ father has had enough, and since he’s too indecisive to make a choice between his two sons, he’s going to leave it up to the gods.

Daddy dearest

So, we’ll leave this short departure into LotR references, and go back to our trusty GoT allusions, as we are now are to have a trial by combat, where we will have a one-on-one battle, and whoever wins by “the grace of the gods” is the righteous one and will become the heir apparent. And again, like that other series, a champion proxy can be chosen to fight on behalf of either party. And guess who Rajendra picks since he’s too weak (or cowardly) to do it himself?

No, sorry, but one-on-one duels to the death really aren’t Narsus’ thing.

No, instead he picks the second most obvious choice, in asking Daryun to represent him in the duel.

I better get a raise for this….

I must admit that Rajendra has some nerve, especially after the Parsians basically saved your hide in the last battle. But the Parsians do need Rajendra to win for their own fight against the Lusitanians. Yet, does Arslan want to risk the life of his most loyal and powerful commander? Will Daryun even do it? And if he does, he’ll be another powerful warrior in a trial by combat…whose weapon of choice is the spear……..0_0

Sigh…the opponent in the next episode is going to be a “mountain” isn’t it? Let’s just hope this writer isn’t as ruthless as George R.R. Martin.

About IreneSharda

A Chicagoan biochemist, teacher, and an aspiring virologist, with a love for science only rivaled by my love for movies, animation, and anime. Both a lover of action/adventure and romance, I'm a girl who walks the entire spectrum. Mecha, Sci-Fi, Psychological Thriller, Romantic Period Piece, if it's has a good story, I'm there.