#aralaq

[spec-squared]

just finished reading The Priory of the Orange Tree. here are my thoughts:

Roos is so fucking pathetic like wow holy shit

i still don't really like Sabran all that much, but that's okay because not all characters have to be likeable (exhibit a: roos). she reminds me of my sister a little bit in that she is super cunty.

i feel like Ead is a little too overpowered but wtv

Tané is definitely my favorite. idk why but I always imagine her looking like Janice Lee lol.

i hc Loth as being aro/ace

Kitston Glade deserved better

Susa DEFINITELY deserved better, fucking OW

Roos is like, the epitome of sopping wet rat man

i will forever be mad at the editors who told Samantha Shannon to shorten the final battle

Nayimathun is a boss ass bitch and ily her vm

kinda weird of Aleidine that the first thing she does upon seeing her deceased husband's secret bf is to go "so there's this cute astronomy professor you might like..." but go off i guess

Meg is great and her husband/fiancé has a sickass scar on his face, I'm so happy for them

Kalyba is just. So Much. like there's a lot there.

Chassar is sweet and i fucking LOVE Aralaq

Niclays Roos is the pettiest, most miserable motherfucker on the planet, and i adore him.

overall I'd give it a 9/10

[nimrism]

delivery person, shaking: delivery for queen sabran IX the magnificent?

*ead opens the door in a mysterious hooded cloak to receive the package while aralaq prowls behind her in the dark*

delivery person, about to shit themself: s-sign here

ead, yelling behind her as she signs: SAB! YOUR ANTI-DEPRESSANTS ARE HERE!

[a-devout-shannonite]

Aralaq: *is described in the book as a massive bear-sized mongoose creature*

Me: he’s just a little baby 🥹

[sshannonauthor]

Hello, good morning!

I think I didn't formulate my last ask in the right way, let me reformulate it.

I was thinking like 10 years later, and they are living their best life together. Do you think Sabran and Ead would think to raise/adopt a child together? Or even a pet? (What kind of pet would they want?)

Bc I know Sabran doesn't want to get pregnant... but what if they raise a child that doesn't have anything to do with queendom...

Do you imagine this idea crossing their minds?

I don't think they'd raise a child by choice, no. They'd be good parents if they found themselves in a situation where they had to look after a child, but neither of them ever wanted kids, in my head.

They'd have a pet, though – Aralaq. Aralaq would not allow any other animals in the home, because horses are slow, birds are stupid, and ichneumons are the very best, in time-honoured ichneumon opinion.

[spiritintheinkwell]

Crossover Comix: The Priory of the Orange Tree by @sshannonauthor​ meets the Elemental Logic series (book 1 is Fire Logic) by Laurie J. Marks. Between the central f/f relationships, the many queer POV characters, the big worlds, and the subtle, imaginative magic systems... I just think these books should be friends. 🍊🔥⚔👭🔨🐉📚

My fifth work for A Year In Shaftal, the Elemental Logic fandom event hosted on @shaftal; prompts 33: a crossover, and 41: femslash february

I promised myself I would make this so simple, but it ended up clocking in at 26 hours, not counting research or writing 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you like this, you might be interested in my other priory art, my other elemental logic art, and my general tag for wlw book fanart.

Did you decide to add a book to your to-read list because of this comic? I would like to hear about it! Are you one of the rare individuals who has already read both of these stories? I want to be your friend!

Bonus:

Available with transcript and even more author’s notes on ao3.

[haven-of-quotes]

Aralaq being the cutest🤧🤎

— Samantha Shannon , The Priory of the Orange Tree

[sabraneadaz]

"Do not follow stupid birds into dark places."

Aralaq, The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon

[wind-come-calling]

“Ichneumon don’t let little sisters die.”

Oh, Aralaq is such a friend.

[undercoverdork1]

Now asking for art of the end of chapter 67 with Aralaq standing next to Sabran as she announces war. Seems like a total badass scene and I would love to see it from someone else’s perspective!

[aeondeug]

Some musical associations I have made while reading this book...

Ead/Sabran - Princess Ellis from the Shining Force 2 Symphonic Suite

Ead and Loth’s magical knightly adventurings - Warrior of the Reviving Light from the Shining Force 2 Symphonic Suite

Ead escaping from Ascalon and the Priory - Battle 3 from Shining Force 1

Loth and Kit traveling to Yscalin - World Map 1 from Shining Force 1

Loth and Kit escaping from Yscalin - Lower Labyrinth from Shining in the Darkness

Loth and Kit in Cárscaro - After City Destruction from Shining Force 1

The Kit Shenanigans Theme - Mithril Diggers from Shining Force 2

Wyrm attacks on Sabran - The Warrior’s Awakening from the Shining Force 2 Symphonic Suite

Literally all the town scenes - Welcome to Our Town from the Shining Force 2 Symphonic Suite

Tané talking to Nayimathun, Ead meeting Kalyba, Roos figuring out Jannart’s mystery - Ancient Temple from the Shining Force 2 Symphonic Suite

Sabran’s Gay Angsting About Being Queen - Sad Event from Shining Force 1

Tané in combat - Battle from Shining the Holy Ark

Ead, Loth and Aralaq against the Red Damsels - Boss Battle from Shining Force 2

Sabran’s Ladies-in-Waiting and other assembled protectors - Headquarters from Shining Force 2

Protecting Sabran and Aubrecht in Ascalon - Boss Battle from Shining the Holy Ark

Merrymaking over Sabran and Aubrecht’s Marriage - Tavern from Shining the Holy Ark

Sabran and Aubrecht’s Marriage - Zod’s Blessing from Shining the Holy Ark

Sabran’s Dreams - Sabato’s Prophecy (West Shrine) from Shining the Holy Ark

Boat Trips with Melaugo and Harlowe - The Blacksmith from Shining the Holy Ark

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 9 of 26

Title: The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019) 

Author: Samantha Shannon

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Third-Person, Female Protagonists, LGBT Protagonists

Rating: 10/10

Date Began: 3/12/2021

Date Finished: 4/12/2021

1000 years ago, the world burned. Draconic creatures terrorized the land, led by a horrific evil known as the Nameless One. But then something happened that sent the monsters into a seemingly endless sleep, and the world has rebuilt in the centuries since.

But the Draconic evil begins to stir in its slumber, and the divided nations of the world have little chance to stop it. Eadaz is a mage from the Priory of the Orange Tree, sent to spy on the northern queendom of Inys. Legend has it that as long as the royal line continues, the world will be free from the Nameless One. While it's a long shot, Ead guards the young Queen Sabran closely to preserve the peace. However, as she and the queen grow closer to each other, Ead has to decide where her loyalties lie. Meanwhile, her close friend Loth is secretly sent into exile by the royal spymaster due to his controversial friendship with the queen. Supposedly sent as an ambassador to the newly Draconic kingdom of Yscalin, he soon finds himself out of his depth, entrusted with a deadly secret.

In the isolationist Eastern country of Seiiki, Tané wants nothing more than to become a dragon rider. The dragons of the East are old, wise, and revered as gods-- eternally opposed to the Draconic legions of the West. However, the night before the choosing ceremony that will decide her fate, she breaks isolation and discovers a young man from the West on the shore. Rather than report him to the authorities, she and her friend smuggle him to the island of Orisima, the only place Westerners are permitted. Niclays Roos, an old man exiled to Orisima by Queen Sabran, soon finds himself caught in the conflict. He believes if he finds an elixir for eternal life, he will finally be able to return home. When he's forced to shelter the forbidden Westerner, Niclays' entire way of life is upended-- but he is soon granted the opportunity to escape his exile.  

'My grandmother once said that when a wolf comes to the village, a shepherd looks first to her own flock. The wolf bloods his teeth on other sheep, and the shepherd knows it will one day come for hers, but she clings to the hope that she might be able to keep him out. Until the wolf is at her door.’

Full review, minor spoilers, and content warnings under the cut.

Content warnings for the book:  Some sexual content. Blood, gore, violence, traumatic injury, suicide, and death. Torture and execution. Miscarriage. Body horror (kinda). Drug use.

Clocking in at just over 800 pages, The Priory of the Orange Tree is a long, detailed story. I tend to label things Epic Fantasy when they have world-changing stakes. While Priory certainly fits that criteria, it's the first fantasy book I've read in a while that really does feel like an epic. It stars a huge cast of interesting characters from many walks of life, all of whom find themselves caught up in a world-spanning conflict. It captures the sense of a standalone, grand adventure that shorter fantasy novels of today don't typically reach.

With a book this long, it would be easy to ramble on forever about everything I liked. However, I'm going to try to keep it short and simple.

One of my favorite things about this story was the sheer depth of the world. Lots of people compare this to The Lord of the Rings not for its tropes, but the attention to detail regarding the countries, politics, history, religion, and so on. I'm inclined to agree with this assessment. The world felt alive and multi-dimensional. I could pinpoint many parallels to our own mythologies and histories-- particularly drawn from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. There's also a clear love of language in the story via its beautiful prose. I like to think I know English pretty well, but this book taught me quite a few new words! Might fuck around and call sunsets "rutilant" from now on.

I thought all four leads were interesting. Ead is kinda the "main" lead of the novel, although Tané overtakes her in the latter half. Everyone had different personalities and backstories, and I genuinely enjoyed all of their arcs. Niclays in particular would be an easy character to hate; of the four, he's the most selfish and does some real questionable shit. At the same time, it's hard not to sympathize with him. He's a sad, unjustly exiled elder who's lost the one man he cared about, and finds himself in a desperate situation. These types of characters are interesting to me; a glimpse of what anyone can become given the wrong circumstances and cruel treatment.

With stories like this, one of the most satisfying payoffs is how the different characters and stories come together. It was interesting to see how their paths converged and diverged over time, and ultimately how everything tied together in the end. I also appreciated the character relationships. I liked that Loth's close friendships with both Sabran and Ead were intimate yet platonic without some awkward love triangle.

From some story specifics... I'm a sucker for the bodyguard romance trope, and seeing it done with women in a mainstream novel gave me life. I thought the romance between Ead and Sabran was really sweet; I didn't see how it would work early on since Sabran was a little insufferable, but she had hidden depths (oh god, another weakness of mine). I also really liked the idea of traditional European and Asian dragons being diametrically opposed, and that being a core theme of the story. Intelligent and/or talking animals are another thing I adore in spec fic, so I dug characters like Aralaq. Kalyba's ongoing relevance and gradual exposition was also neat; I love minor world details that turn out super relevant later.

Also, the entire final battle/ending sequence was SO good. Really creative and action packed. Action scenes often blend together for me (and can be logistical nightmares) but Priory's climactic ending was just awesome. I don't want to spoil specifics, but it reminded me of many beloved epic battles in modern fantasy. Avatar the Last Airbender, How To Train Your Dragon, and Pirates of the Caribbean all came to mind. 

My main criticism with Priory is that often, the plot relied on convenient coincidence to get the characters out of a jam or otherwise advance the story. I can excuse a minor contrivance or two for the sake of a smooth story, and the scope of this book is big enough that it'd be hard to avoid. But some are nuts. For example, Loth gets rescued from certain death by a giant ichneumon while traveling through the mountains. We later learn the ichneumon is Aralaq, a friend of Ead's, and he just happened to be in the middle of nowhere, far from his home, and stumbled upon Loth. Loth, who ALSO happens to be Ead's best friend... which Aralaq presumably doesn't know?

Another is the MAJOR SPOILER regarding the rising jewel's location. I didn't hate the twist itself, but there was so little build up to it. I wish there were more early hints to justify it, because with setup it would be a pretty cool development. These things didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story, but the borderline deus ex machina (machinae? machinas?) did take me out of it a bit. It’s possible I missed stuff so I’ll give some benefit of the doubt. 

Overall, though, The Priory of the Orange Tree is a fun, world-spanning adventure. Like any long book, it's an investment to get into. However, if you're looking for a standalone, feminist fantasy epic, this is certainly a good place to start.  

[stayinggroundedwithbooks]

The Priory of the Orange Tree

I found myself in a whole new world. Samantha Shannon wrote this beautiful book allowing me to escape the modern world be live in and enter a world of dragons, Queens, magic and pirates. 

I fell in love with Ead and Sabrans relationship. I knew there would be a same-sex romance when I started the novel but their connection grew throughout which I hadn't been expecting when I first met the characters. My heart broke for Sabran as she lost each person she cared for. The way Shannon wrote Ead and Sabrans love story is something all people long for. As your partner is the other part of your soul. I was sad for them as they had to go their separate ways in the end with the hope to meet again in 10 years and run away together. In the meantime Ead would be the Prioress of the Orange Tree and Sabran would help build back Inys. 

Niclays character bugged me. I didn’t like him from blackmailing Tane and I felt he was a miserable old man. That was until the end when he chose to fight against the Draconic Army instead of killing Ead in hopes that he would see Jannart again. I was surprised that he surrendered when I was so sure that he was full of hatred for everyone but Jan. 

I liked Loth. I was a little confused about his character and I wished more for him. He had such a close relationship with Ead and Sabran and his sister. One of his best friends died and he seemed like the only one without someone. I hoped he would end up with the Donmata Marosa but once again that ended with what appeared to be a friendship. 

Tane was the person that felt most relatable to me but she was also a mystery to me as well.  She wanted so bad to be dragon rider that she committed an illegal act out of selfishness. However she worked hard and was honorable and loyal to her dragon and her friends. I wondered for so long throughout the book why the jewel was sewn into her side and then the puzzle pieces clicked together and it all made sense as she was the descendant of Neporo who helped defeat the Nameless One with Cleolind when he first rose. At the end of the book I was confused as Tane returned to the Island of Komoridu where her ancestor lived. She woke to a white butterfly and blood on her side. I didn't know what this meant. After looking up some theories some say that the jewel was stitched back in Tanes side in order to keep it safe and that the butterfly was Neporo looking over Tane. 

Aralaq the ichneumon, who I pictured as a polar bear, was also one of my favorite characters because he was so loyal to Ead in protecting. He always showed up when the characters needed him most. 

A lot is still unresolved as the world needs to build its self back together after the Draconic Army was defeated and new allies were formed from East to West to North and South. However, Shannon was able to depict a beautiful story of love, female power, faith in a world filled with dragons. 

[a-devout-shannonite]

Reread Part III yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Loth realize that Aralaq wasn’t incapable of speaking, he just really didn’t want to talk to Loth.

[sshannonauthor]

Where was Aralaq during the final battle? And did he go with Eadaz or stay with Sabran at the end? Aralaq is one of my favorite elements of Proiry, and I want to know all the things about him (especially how fluffy he is). Loved the book, not at all ready to let go of the world or its inhabitants.

Aralaq fought on the Lasian side of the battle. At the end he stayed with Ead, because he doesn’t like to leave his favourite little sister. 

Ichneumons are fluffier in the winter than they are in the summer, but they always have magnificently fluffy tails. And when they’re babies they are even fluffier. 

[miblogdegatos]

RT @ADAAColmenar: Por falta de tiempo no os he podido comentar pero esta semana Aralaq tuvo que ser hospitalizado. Sigue amarillo, al menos ya come, la fiebre ha remitido... Estamos haciendo pruebas. Nos ayudáis con sus gastos? Cuenta: Es43 0081 5125 520001619264 Más: https://t.co/SdENjHZnzO https://t.co/lPRIyfXrJi

[a-devout-shannonite]

“A sort of dignified exhaustion” Oh my god please, like this is literally just the perfect description of Aralaq, the epitome of ‘grumpy old man who’s actually really good person’ if said person was, in fact, a giant mongoose and not a person.