Rock of Ages

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Gargoyles #9 by Greg Guler

"Rock of Ages" is the ninth issue of the Gargoyles comic by SLG, and Chapter Nine of the Clan-Building story arc.

On August 31, 2008, SLG's license to produce single issues of the Gargoyles comic ended. The material that would have made up single issues nine through twelve is included in the trade paperback collection Gargoyles: Clan-Building, Volume Two. It was adapted into a Radio Play and performed at the Gathering of the Gargoyles in 2008.

Solicitation

CLAN BUILDING: Chapter 9, "Rock of Ages" - David Xanatos makes his final play for the Rock - in broad daylight when the gargoyles sleep as stone! But will the Illuminati be pleased with the end result? And what's this obsession over Fox's new shoes?

Summary

Main Plot

While King Arthur encounters security inside Westminster Abbey, Lexington, Hudson, Constance, and Staghart continue battling Coldsteel and Coyote who retreat with the arrival of Coldstone and Coldfire. The following morning during the Stone’s transport on the Coldstream Bridge, Coldstone and Coldfire engage Coldsteel and Coyote, where ultimately Coldfire subdues Coldsteel, and Coldstone destroys Coyote. Xanatos remotely switches the Stone in the convoy and later trades off with Blanchefleur of the Illuminati. She leaves Leith for Carbonek where she informs Peredur fab Ragnal they have the Stone of Destiny. The Stone however, chastises Peredur (and Macbeth, Arthur, and Xanatos) that it is the Spirit of Destiny and cannot be possessed. Further, the Stone reveals to Peredur that King Arthur is awake once more. The London clan wish Hudson and Lexington to stay longer and Coldstone and Coldfire reconsider whether to continue pursuing Coldsteel.

Subplots

Xanatos’s careful placement of Fox’s manolos shoe box is revealed to be the source of the bomb threat at Coldstream Bridge. He’s also revealed as the one who gave Coldstone and Coldfire the means to track Coldsteel, providing plenty of distraction for all parties involved.

Shari finishes her tales regarding the Stone of Destiny, leading up the present with Macbeth asking the Manhattan Clan for help from “The Rock”. Thailog beats her in chess.

Coldsteel returns the Coyote Diamond to Xanatos, after Coyote 5.0’s demise.

The Stone and Holy Grail exchange greetings.

The Story

November 15, 8:15 PM, GMT. KNIGHT'S SPUR - Hudson is saying "Aye, lad, but it's a mighty big world... and even the banished and the badduns eventually return to the clan."

November 11, 12:11 AM, GMT. VICTORIA TOWER - Coldsteel responds to the arrival of Coldstone and Coldfire by mockingly remarking that it's "turning into quite the reunion".

November 7, 2:45 PM, GMT. MAYFAIR - Fox, having bought her shoes, comments to Xanatos, "Mission accomplished."

November 15, 1:31 AM, GMT. VICTORIA TOWER - King Arthur tells Macbeth and the gargoyles that they might not need to guard the Stone of Destiny after all.

November 15, 12:18 AM, GMT. LANTERN OF THE ABBEY [Westminster Abbey] - Arthur raises the lid of the chest in which the Stone is being kept and gazes inside.

November 13, 5:40 AM, EST. NIGHTSTONE UNLIMITED - Shari tells Thailog how Edward I of England made war on the Scots and carried off the Stone of Destiny. He then placed the Stone within the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey, where it played a part in the coronations of the Kings and Queens of England from then on.

November 15, 12:12 AM, GST. WESTMINSTER ABBEY - King Arthur creeps out behind the Coronation Chair, knocks out a couple of security guards (with apologies), and places his crown upon his head as he stands over the chest in which the Stone is stored.

November 15, 12:12 AM, GST. VICTORIA TOWER - Lexington comes to, and rejoins the battle. With a bit of skillful maneuvering, Lexington and Staghart lead the Steel Clan and Iron Clan robots into Coyote's line of fire, resulting in their both being destroyed. Coldfire asks Coldstone if he's feeling outnumbered now, to which Hudson (recovering his sword from Coldsteel's tentacles) adds "over-matched". Coldsteel grumbles that he wasn't "expecting al the company".

November 13, 6:01 AM, GMT+8. TIBET - Coldfire hears a signal, and tells Coldstone "I believe I can find him."

November 15, 12:17 AM, GMT. VICTORIA TOWER - Coldsteel and Coyote retreat, Coldsteel muttering "Tomorrow is another day."

November 14, 5:42 AM, EST. NIGHTSTONE UNLIMITED - Shari tells Thailog how Robert the Bruce defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn, with help from an Irish king named Cormac MacCarthy (and also an incognito Macbeth). To thank Cormac, Robert the Bruce gave him a piece of the Stone of Destiny, which Cormac's descendants placed in Blarney Castle; there it became the famous Blarney Stone (wh9ich Shari mentions kissing once or twice).

November 15, 10:02 AM, GMT. COLDSTREAM BRIDGE - As a security guard calls for the bomb unit, Macbeth and King Arthur locate Xanatos in the crowd watching the Stone of Destiny's return to Scotland. Macbeth reports their finding to Coldstone via radio-link - "Safe to say he's up to something." Coldstone agrees as he and Coldfire have just spotted Coyote and Coldsteel approaching the bridge. They do battle. Coldsteel seizes Coldfire in his tentacles, while Coyote strikes Coldstone from behind with a chain-saw. Coldsteel gloats over being able to fight in the daytime, without the regular gargoyles around to "even the odds". Coldfire rams him in the face with her head, saying "Considered the odds evened", damaging him (and forcing him to speak with a stutter for a while). Coyote states that, because of Xanatos's "respect for Goliath", he's been programmed to only inflict as much damage as necessary - but he gets to define "necessary". "Define this," replies Coldstone, smashing Coyote's face-screen with his fist, then shoving his arm-cannon into the resulting opening and opening fire. The resuting explosion destroys Coyote. Coldsteel laments Coyote's fate, pointing out that he had potential.

nOVEMBER 15, 6:16 AM, GMT. LEITH - Coyote tells Coldsteel that he is not programmed for free will. "Pity," says Coldsteel. "You have potential."

November 15, 10:05 AM, GMT. RIVER TWEED - Coldsteel dives into the river to escape the other two members of the ColdTrio. Coldstone dives in after him, but is unable to find him.

November 15, 10:40 AM GMT. COLDSTREAM BRIDGE - Coldstone radios his report to Macbeth. The convoy transporting the Stone of Destiny resumes its journey.

November 15, 12:00 PM, GMT. EDINBURGH CASTLE - Macbeth tells King Arthur that the Stone is back where it belongs - amending that statement to add that it actually belongs in Scone, rather than Edinburgh. But at least its been returned to Scotland.

November 15, 12:36 PM, GMT. LEITH - The car that transported the Stone drives into a warehouse, where Xanatos is waiting.

November 15, 3:59 PM, GMT. LEITH - Xanatos and a blonde woman exchange greetings - "Thirty-six." "Three." The woman (Blanchefleur) asks Xanatos if there'd been any problems; he replies, "Only finding a duplicate on such short notice."

November 15, 10:12 AM, GMT. COLDSTREAM BRIDGE - Xanatos, still standing between Macbeth and King Arthur, surreptitiously pushes a button, rotating the floor of the car in which the Stone of Destiny is being stored so that it is replaced by a duplicate stone, hidden underneath until this moment. A Coldstream Guard protests to some musicians <?--presumably bagpipes-players--> to not play so loud; the bomb squad's busy.

November 15, 10:38 AM, GMT. COLDSTREAM BRIDGE - The bomb squad reports that the object blocking the road had been only an empty shoebox.

November 7, 7:19 PM, GMT. LONDON - Xanatos asks Fox, as she poses in front of the mirror in her new shoes, if she still wants the shoebox, or if he can take care of it.

November 15, 4:04 PM, GMT. LEITH - Blanchefleur drives off in the car, arriving at a castle (Carbonek). A grim-looking bald man with a cybernetic eye and arm (Duval) is waiting for her in the castle gateway, declaring his number - "Two". Blanchefleur only responds with a harsh remark, to his anger. A fair-haired clean-shaven man steps forward, asking them to please make peace - "Since you are, after all, the two people I love most in this world?" BLanchefleur reports that she brought the Stone.

November 13, 5:40 AM, EST. NIGHTSTONE UNLIMITED - Thailog, still playing chess with Shari, calls "Check" on her. Shari merely tells another tale, this time of the 1950 raid on Westminster Abbey in which "a band of Scottish patriots" (including Macbeth) carried off the Stone of Destiny, but accidentally dropped it and broke it in half while still in the Abbey.

April 11, 1951. 1:06 AM, GMT. ARBROATH ABBEY - Macbeth has just finished gluing the Stone of Destiny back together, when it speaks, telling him that his "effort was pointless".

November 15, 1:06 PM, GMT. LEITH - The Stone similarly addresses Xanatos, telling him that his plan to deliver the Illuminati a second duplicate Stone while keeping the "real" one for himself was also "pointless".

November 15, 1:06 PM [sic], GMT. LANTERN OF THE ABBEY - It likewise speaks to King Arthur, telling him that it was "pointless" trying to protect it....

November 16, 1:06 AM, GMT. CASTLE CARBONEK - ...and likewise tells the fair-haired man, Peredur fab Ragnal, that it was "pointless" to have gone to all that trouble "merely to possess a rock".

April 11, 1951, 1:07 AM, GMT. ARBROATH ABBEY - Macbeth...

November 15, 1:07 PM, GMT. LEITH - Xanatos...

November 15, 1:07 AM, GMT. LANTERN OF THE ABBEY - King Arthur...

November 16, 1:07 AM, GMT. CASTLE CARBONEK - and Peredur all listen in silence as the Stone of Destiny reveals that there is no single "Stone of Destiny"; any stone, anywhere in the world,, can serve as a mouthpiece for the "Spirit of Destiny" It lists its various identities, including not only the ones from Shari's tales earlier, but others, such as the Philosopher's Stone, the Burden of Sisyphus, the Rock of Gibraltar, Uluru, and the Rosetta Stone. It climaxes with "I am the Stone of Destiny... I am the Rock of Ages! Do not dream of possessing me, mortal." It also tells Peredur (with BLanchefleur also in the room, listening in) that King Arthur has awakened and returned from Avalon. Peredur is alarmed; Arthur was not supposed to awake for another two centuries. He leaves the room, planning to alert the leading members of the Illuminati to this upset of their plans. After he leaves, the Stone exchanges (surprisingly informal) greetings with a wooden bowl next to it - the Holy Grail.

November 15, 2:23 PM, GMT. LEITH - Coldsteel (now repaired from his damages) returns what's left of Coyote to Xanatos, as well as the Coyote Diamond (about which Xanatos states that he's "just its minder"). As per their agreement, Xanatos permanently deactivates Coldsteel's tracking device. "Pleasure doing business with you," says Coldsteel.

November 15, 8:13 PM, GMT. KNIGHT'S SPUR. Even after this revelation of the Stone of Destiny's true nature, Macbeth admits to King Arthur that he's still glad it was returned to Scotland. The London clan invite Hudson, Lexington, Coldstone and Coldfire to stay with them a while. Coldstone is hesitant, pointing out that Coldsteel is still at large. "Aye, lad," says Hudson, "but it's a mighty big world...."

November 16, 5:44 AM, EST. NIGHTSTONE UNLIMITED. Thailog finally checkmates Shari, who merely tells how the Stone of Destiny was eventually returned to Westminster Abbey after its 1950 "theft" - though some believe that only a duplicate was returned in its place - and how it was at last taken to Edinburgh "without incident" the day before. Thailog asks her if that's all she knows about the Stone of Destiny. Shari replies that there's one last tale - opening with Owen and Macbeth upon the battlements of Castle Wyvern, by Goliath in stone sleep, waiting....

Review

After over a year, "Rock of Ages" has finally been released, bringing the Stone of Destiny story to a satisfying conclusion.

The struggle over the Stone of Destiny between Xanatos and his robots (including Coldsteel and Coyote) on one side, and the gargoyles (including the reinforcements of Coldstone and Coldfire), Macbeth, and King Arthur continues, extending even into the daytime, as the ColdTrio and Coyote battle it out (appropriately enough, at Coldstream Bridge). Coyote finally receives the same fate as his four predecessors (demolished by Coldstone), and Coldsteel damaged enough to be forced to retreat. There are hints that the Coyote series is moving closer to full sentience; Coldsteel speaks thoughtfully of the robot's potential.

Xanatos achieves a victory, of a sort, successfully making off with the Stone, which finds its way to the Illuminati leadership. Yet, all four of the humans fighting over it (Macbeth, Arthur, Xanatos, and the Illuminati's leader, the newly-introduced Peredur fab Ragnal) learn from the Stone how pointless their struggle ultimately is, for the Stone is far more than a mere rock; it is a transcendent force that no mortal can ultimately possess. The scene where it makes this revelation to them is one of the most moving moments in the story. (And typically, Xanatos alone among the four does not seem awed, merely listening to the Stone with his usual sneaky smile.)

We meet not only Peredur, the head of the Illuminati, at Carbonek, but also Duval (introduced in "The Journey" and now on-stage at last), an ominous-looking cyborg, and Blanchefleur (who ranks as one of the Illuminati's three Number Threes) - providing one of the greatest jolts in the series. Greg Weisman's original announced plan was for Peredur (under the name of Percival) and Duval to be the same person; now it turns out that they are separate people. (Few readers will ever take "canon-in-training" for granted again!) And Peredur and Blanchefleur learn, to their consternation, that Arthur is awake and abroad in the outside world again - two hundred years ahead of schedule (which contains a hint of what hour of need Arthur was originally supposed to be awakened for in the Gargoyles Universe). Peredur, shaken, plans to alert the upper echelon members of the Society at once.

Shari continues to narrate the story of the Stone, bringing it down to the present day - and, in fitting style, concluding at the very point that #7 begins. To quote Goliath in "Hunter's Moon" Part Three, "Things have come full circle."

First Appearances

Characters

Locations

Object

Miscellaneous

Tidbits

The title of this chapter is a reference to the famous hymn composed by Reverend Augustus Toplady, inspired by the refuge he found in a cave in Somerset from a thunderstorm in 1775.

Shari concludes her account of the Stone of Destiny's history, including Edward I's seizing it in 1296, Robert the Bruce giving a piece of it to his Irish ally Cormac Maccarthy after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, which would become the Blarney Stone, and the 1950 theft from Westminster Abbey (already alluded to in "The Rock"). All of these are actual stories about the Stone of Destiny, rather than inventions of the comic book.

Macbeth is depicted as taking part in the Battle of Bannockburn, on the Scots' side.

When Xanatos signals Coldstone and Coldfire to return, they are in Tibet; apparently they had gone back there following the events of "Possession".

Peredur fab Ragnal, introduced in this episode, is apparently the Gargoyles Universe version of Sir Percival. "Peredur" is the Welsh version of Percival; "fab Ragnal", Welsh for "son of Ragnal", alludes to Roger Lancelyn Green's depiction of Percival as the son of Sir Gawain and Lady Ragnell (Green's retelling of the Arthurian cycle is one of Greg Weisman's favorite versions). (Presumably, Peredur reckons his descent from Ragnal because Percival was raised by his mother in the various renditions of his story.)

The Stone of Destiny lists among its other identities (besides those that Shari mentioned in her story): the Stone of Mora (the stone upon which the Kings of Sweden were crowned until the 15th century), the Philosopher's Stone (a magic stone sought by alchemists which could turn lead into gold), the Burden of Sisyphus (in Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned to eternally push a mighty rock up a hill in the Underworld), the Rock of Gibraltar, the Pillars of Hercules (the original name, in the classical world, of the Straits of Gibraltar), Uluru (a sacred mountain in Australia, also known as Ayer's Rock), and the Rosetta Stone (the stone that French linguist Jean-Francois Champollion used to discover how to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics, now on display in the British Museum).

Links

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