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The Toll: Part Two

In the last book of the Arc of the Scythe trilogy, Scythe Goddard relentlessly pursues his quest for unchecked power.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
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Full list of words from this list:

  1. coalesce
    fuse or cause to come together
    These first lines of the account of the Toll’s life set forth the basis of Tonist belief that the Toll was not born, but existed in a non-corporeal form until the Great Resonance caused him to coalesce into flesh.
  2. monolithic
    imposing in size or bulk or solidity
    The central portion of the bridge span, having fallen into disuse and disrepair, had come down in a storm before the Thunderhead had learned ways to temper the extremes of weather. But the monolithic arches on either side remained.
  3. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    He knew that the greats suffered for their art. He tried to suffer. When he was a teenager, hearing that Van Gogh had shorn off an ear in a fit of delusional pique, he tried it himself.
  4. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    Toll was not a wizened man—he seemed little more than a boy.
  5. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
    He expected the Toll to slough off the question with more smoke and mirrors. Platitudes about leaps of faith and the like.
  6. officious
    intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner
    Ezra dropped to his knees. Not because he was told to by some officious curate, but because he now knew that the Toll was what he claimed him to be.
  7. posit
    put forward, as an idea
    There is no question that the Toll had a grand and glorious throne, most likely made of gold, although some have posited that it was made of the gold-plated bones of the vanquished wicked of Lenape, a mythical city.
  8. pedantic
    marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning
    “You know me better than anyone. In fact, you know everyone better than anyone, and you can’t figure out why I did it?”
    “I can,” the Thunderhead said a bit pedantically.
  9. contrition
    sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation
    The man’s shock turned to contrition. He folded as if under some heavy weight. “I’m sorry if I have offended you, Your Sonority. What can I do to earn your favor?”
  10. modicum
    a small or moderate or token amount
    “But a modicum of desperation is not a bad thing if it leads to productive soul-searching.”
  11. mundane
    found in the ordinary course of events
    After a full day of monotonous audiences, mostly with devout Tonists who wanted simplistic answers about mundane matters, he was carried off by a nondescript speedboat that had been stripped of every comfortable amenity to make its extravagance feel suitably austere.
  12. austere
    severely simple
    After a full day of monotonous audiences, mostly with devout Tonists who wanted simplistic answers about mundane matters, he was carried off by a nondescript speedboat that had been stripped of every comfortable amenity to make its extravagance feel suitably austere.
  13. stilted
    artificially formal or stiff
    Usually Greyson would try to break the ice with conversation, but it always ended up being stilted and awkward.
  14. subterfuge
    something intended to misrepresent the nature of an activity
    It had been quite the subterfuge keeping their unexpected find a secret—because within moments of finding the two bodies, the Spence was forcibly boarded by a horde of infuriated scythes.
  15. homogeneous
    all of the same or similar kind or nature
    “We have conquered racism by blending the world into a single people, combining all the finest qualities of every genetic ethnicity...but there are those—particularly in fringe areas—whose genetic indices are skewed heavily in one direction. And worse, there are some who actually attempt to increase a genetic leaning in their children by choice of mate. If I had my druthers, perhaps I would glean these genetic outliers, and thereby create a more homogeneous society.”
  16. inexorable
    impossible to prevent, resist, or stop
    “Thus,” he said, “our inexorable descent continues.”
  17. drudgery
    hard, monotonous, routine work
    He had applied for early admission to a dozen earth-bound universities. He had no specific path in mind; he merely wanted to go elsewhere. Be elsewhere. Be someone new. What a thrill that would be! A sublime escape from the drudgery of colonial life.
  18. volition
    the capability of conscious choice and decision
    His arms and legs move almost of their own volition, reacting to the anxiety of the dream.
  19. caustic
    harsh or corrosive in tone
    Now Goddard paces, whipping his fury into a caustic meringue.
  20. wayward
    resistant to guidance or discipline
    Perhaps this wayward Tonist was just here to make a point—but there will be others with more deadly agendas.
  21. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    “If you wish to remain in my service, you’ll stop trying to placate me like a child,” he tells her, “and you’ll do what I ask you to do.”
  22. ostensibly
    from appearances alone
    King, queen, empress, protector—whatever title you choose, it’s all the same. Regardless, it would ostensibly be my world.
  23. de facto
    existing, whether with lawful authority or not
    I would make the rules, define the parameters of right and wrong. I would be the de facto authority over it, as you are.
  24. esoteric
    understandable only by an enlightened inner circle
    Let the secrets of the founders remain hidden for all eternity. It serves them right for leaving it so well concealed. It was their choice to consign it to myth and nursery rhyme. To bury it in esoteric maps locked in arcane rooms.
  25. brazen
    not held back by conventional ideas of behavior
    Kwajalein was his find. His triumphant discovery. The Thunderhead had brazenly jumped his claim.
  26. complacency
    the feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself
    He was only jaded then. He didn’t yet loathe the world, just mildly disliked it. It was Citra who had rousted him out of his complacency.
  27. blase
    nonchalantly unconcerned
    But rather than being fearful, the workers just seemed blasé.
    “It never happens to us,” they would say, “or to anyone we know.”
  28. bulwark
    a protective structure of stone or concrete
    Modern amenities juxtaposed with ancient stone bulwarks made the place both comfortable and intimidating at once.
  29. pretext
    a fictitious reason that conceals the real reason
    She explored with the pretext of curiosity, but really she was just looking for Rowan.
  30. rancor
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    She was so full of fury and rancor, spittle flew from her mouth as she spoke.
  31. timbre
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
    He shared bread and fellowship with the believer, the magician, and the mauler, for all were of equal timbre to the Toll.
  32. disparate
    fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind
    Only the Toll could have united such disparate voices into a coherent sound pleasing to the Tone.
  33. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    But most egregious, in my opinion, is that Symphonius missed that the Toll sitting “in the cradle of the Great Fork in the springtime of his life” is an obvious fertility reference.
  34. beatific
    resembling or befitting an angel or saint
    And the Toll, with a stagey, beatific gesture meant to mildly mock the entire process, raised his hand and pointed to the only wrong answer on the test: the abbey.
  35. vestment
    a gown worn by the clergy
    Perhaps because he was still the Toll, clothed in those itchy, embroidered vestments.
  36. sibilant
    a consonant characterized by a hissing sound
    But at least they were better than the zealots—who were becoming so extreme, there was a new name for them: Sibilants. A torturous, distorted sound, unpleasant to all.
  37. respite
    a relief from harm or discomfort
    Greyson’s only respite from reverence was Sister Astrid, who, in spite of her fervent belief that he was a prophet, didn’t treat him like one.
  38. conjecture
    a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence
    However, to suggest that they devoured souls is a stretch even for Symphonius, who tends to prefer hearsay and conjecture to evidence.
  39. sycophantic
    attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
    “Forgive me, Your Sonority,” he said. “I was out of line.”
    But even to him it sounded far more sycophantic than sincere.
  40. relegate
    assign to a lower position
    The Cloisters did not have a dungeon. It was only designed to resemble a medieval structure, not actually function as one. Instead, Morrison was relegated to what must have been someone’s office in the days when the place had been a museum.
Created on Mon Sep 28 14:23:34 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Oct 01 10:27:42 EDT 2020)

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