I need a word to call someone who inserts themselves into a power void without permission. Or someone takes a title before proving that they've earned it. The chosen one is dead, a guy takes his weapon and won't give it to the speaker, the speaker thinks the guy might have arranged the chosen one's death. Upstart doesn't have the right punch and its synonyms are about wealth. Despot is completely the wrong direction. I tried inserting the czech word for "climber" but I think I'd rather have the english word if there is one.
It's almost right, but it has the wrong image attached to it. I'm wishing that arrogate wasn't such a rarely-used word, and that it had a noun form. I decided to strip down the conversation so that it doesn't come up... just had to cut something else that didn't make sense.
Opportunist? If the guy who took the sword without permission didn't cause the death, but merely took advantage of it? If he did cause the death, he's a proper usurper. You're right about 'arrogator' - it's exactly the meaning you're after, but it's not a word! Flaming English language, eh?
I like Jannert's answer of Opportunist, but also in the U.S. we use the word snake as a noun, and also as a verb. For example you might say: The opportunist snaked his way into the CEO position.
I like interloper, but he's not an outsider to the problem and it will be apparent by the time I would do a tirade. Guy has no intention of giving the sword back to the chosen one except on his own terms. I've rewritten it so that he refuses to give it to the speaker for valid reasons and hints that he'll run into the chosen one later. Opportunist is too positive, I think. Given that the oroborous is a central theme in their religion... There are only certain people that I can see as using snake as an insult. I'd have to decide if snake-killers exist in the world. And the guy isn't the sneaky one; he will balls-out take what he wants.
If everyone agrees that the sword belongs to the "chosen one" then the person who took the sword is a thief.
It doesn't have the right punch... I'm just going to have to write around it. It's less about the stealing and more about "you'll doom us all" problem.
