#feliandor

[bayofwolves]

Hey Bay! I hope you’re having a good one. Have you ever thought of what an atla au would look like with the cast of sa? I have many thoughts but am very curious to see your take!

Hii K! I hope you're having a good day as well :)

This is a great question, and it came at a good time because the ATLA hyperfixation has been creeping back into my brain as of late. I have thought of combining Spirit Animals and ATLA before, but I haven't worked out all the details in my head.

The tricky thing is, in the world of ATLA, two of our protagonists wouldn't exist. Rollan and Meilin are fine, though, being Native American and Chinese-coded respectively. I've considered an AU with just the two of them. But in order to have Conor and Abeke in this as well, we would have to either allow other races to exist in ATLA's world or have this whole AU take place on Erdas. In any case, Conor would be an earthbender, Abeke a waterbender, Meilin a firebender and Rollan an airbender.

Let's say they all team up because of a prophecy that says four benders, each of a different element, will be able to harness the power of the Avatar and restore balance to the world. Maybe Feliandor was the last Avatar and did catastrophic damage to the planet during the last Great War. The Great Beasts would be able to control all four elements and, as it turns out, bestow that power upon a lesser creature. Kovo and Gerathon did this for the first time with Feliandor, and he almost levelled the world with his power before he was stopped. Five hundred years later, they choose a new Avatar to finish what was started -- Shane. Only by using all of their bending together are the Four Heroes able to stop him.

That's my half-baked concept for an ATLA AU. I'd love to hear your ideas!

[dark-night-star-light]

Spirit Animals: Tales of the Great Beasts (Reread pt. 8)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILER FOR THIS BOOK, THE BOOK OF SHANE, AND BOOKS ONE THROUGH SEVEN IN FIRST SERIES (AS WELL AS SOME MINOR SPOILERS FOR BOOKS SEVEN AND EIGHT IN SECOND SERIES). 

Masterpost

Tales of the Great Beasts: Ninani's Nectar Reread

Kovo

“This liquid held the power to change . . . everything” (3). He really believes that, doesn’t he? Yikes.

“Feliandor’s father had been a good king, and Feliandor wanted to be a good king too” (4). This is pretty much the source of all his problems, isn’t it??? That’s really ironic.

“It wasn’t comfortable, but it was beautiful. And intimidating” (5). This throne feels like a symbol . . . it’s in The Book of Shane, as well.

“‘I want a solution right now’” (6). Fel’s impatient. Huh.

“‘A short-term solution, my king, merits only a short celebration’” (7). Okay, here’s the thing . . . Fel actually solves the problem? He stops them from fighting and keeps them happy? There’s not really a problem?

“‘That’s more than one hundred trees that weren’t there before . . . ’” (9). He’s definitely giving off desperate vibes.

“Fel stood silent, feeling his anger and disappointment like a physical force . . . he knew that he was blushing before the entire crowd” (10). Why is he so angry over some trees? I get that he wants to have forests or jungles, but can’t he focus on culture development or architecture or anything else to make him stand out, instead of something that’s already been proven to not work for his country?

“‘Good King Fel!’” Isn’t it The Good King Fel?

“‘ . . . now all that’s left is you’” (10). Oof. Also, how is this even mistaken for being Fel with that context?

“ . . . to reach the peak of Mount Crimson, tallest of the Red Mountains” (11). Is that Muttering Rock? The Red Mountains would be the mountain range, yes?

“‘Uh, my good man,’ Fel said so that everyone could hear, ‘you’ve clearly been through an ordeal. Let’s set you up with a bath and a hot meal. Salen here can schedule a time for us to talk’” (12). Oh, now he’s okay with Salen’s schedules. Also, he’s clearly putting on a show for the people. 

“‘Jace died by toad, Janas by bee. Marcus . . . Marcus by thirst ‘neath a lone pine tree’” (12). So the party only had four people???

“If Salen was surprised, he didn’t show it, only held Fel until he had composed himself once more” (13). This is so sad.

“The soldiers stood rigid and expressionless, so much so that Fel often failed to even think of them as people” (14). Foreshadowing?

“Stetriol’s decline wasn’t his fault; Fel, at least, knew this” (15). Hmmmm.

“That had changed when Nilo’s rulers cut a deal with the new Amayan government . . . ” (17). So Amaya was new during the First Devourer War? So it wasn’t new at all, then, during the Second Devourer War?

“‘Spirit animals manifest by the age of thirteen or not at all . . . ’” (19). Aidana bonded to Wikerus at fourteen. So . . . 

“‘And you are thirteen . . . ’” (19). He’s thirteen??? I guess that makes sense . . . 

Also, parallels? Gerathon kills a Niloan woman at the beginning of Fire and Ice, and while it couldn’t be this same Niloan woman (too old) . . . parallels?

Oh my god, non-modern political cartoons about Fel???

“‘Have him thrown into the dungeon until I say otherwise’” (22). Okay, but . . . they have no clue who this person is???

“He was fairly confident it was the same man who had held the post the night before” (22). Bruh.

“‘When your parents were killed’” (24). How did they die?

“How was it that even the animals of Stetriol were less impressive than those of other lands?” (26). Did he just call Australian animals unimpressive?

“ . . . and downed the contents of the vial” (27). So he just looked at the cassowary and that’s all it takes to “choose” an animal for the Bile?

“‘That’s because the bird is not your partner, Jorick.’ Feliandor’s smile widened. ‘It is your slave’” (28). That made Fel happy??? This guy is crazy.

“‘Jorick, what’s wrong with you? Guards! Get a healer in here immediately’” (30). Okay, so he does have a speck of redemption in him.

“‘It felt as if I wasn’t in control of my own body’” (30). Gerathon, why?

“‘Take him to the dungeon,’ . . . ‘With the rest of the traitors’” (31). He changed his mind about Salen so quickly???

“There was a flatness to his voice, and an odd quality to his eyes that Feliandor couldn’t remember seeing before” (32). Gerathon literally can’t wait to get her hands all over the Bile victims, can she?

“‘By my count that makes you the rarer and more precious of us two’” (33). Kovo is so good with the manipulation and the flattery.

“Fel . . . cast about for a moment, looking for props” (34). Why the heck does he need props??? So dramatic. *shakes head*

“‘They’re saying “the good king fell.” My father, the good king, is gone. And now they’re stuck with me.’ . . . ‘I try so hard,’ he seethed, ‘and I am hated for trying. Hated for the sin of not being my father’” (35). I actually feel bad for him now . . . he’s still a shit king, though.

“‘Chimpanzees use tools to accomplish tasks . . . ’” (37). The Book of Shane parallels?

“Somehow Kovo’s human qualities made his inhumanity all the more striking” (38). The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.

“Feliandor wasn’t in control - had not been in control in a long, long time. The Bile was the first step toward . . . ” (39). Becoming a slave? Because that’s what’s gonna happen-

The screaming trees came from Gerathon???

Fel goes crazy about two seconds after taking the Bile. Hm.

Jhi

I do not remember a thing from this chapter, damn.

“Luan was too selfish to be afraid for Yu . . . ” (45). She has a weird relationship with her spirit animal . . .

“She was leaving Yin out of the conversation, denying her the truth” (49). Isn’t she a teenager???

“Yin didn’t care that she was breaking Kuan’s rules. She needed to know if her brother would be okay” (50). Can’t she just go right up to the curtain instead? That would be more subtle.

“ . . . the Healthbringer lives in the Great Bamboo Maze . . . ” (51). See? Jhi did live in the Maze. Shouldn’t she have known the way out during Blood Ties? Maybe her memory was impacted???

Yin and Luan’s bond kind of reminds me of Meilin and Jhi’s. Parallels?

“‘Do you ever wish you were without me?’” (56). More Meilin and Jhi parallels.

Wait, she goes back to Kuan??? I thought she goes to find Jhi???

Ohhhhh, damn. He got worse.

 Wait, if she carries her brother, won’t she get sick, too?

“‘This is where we are. I’m certain’” (63). Wait, let me guess. She’s looking at an out-of-date map, and Luan, being a bird, knows where to actually go. This entire chapter is one long Meilin-Jhi parallel.

Yep, I was right. Luan was apparently fixing the map.

“The Maze is changing, she thought” (64). Or being destroyed.

This chapter feels hastily written. Like, I don’t know how to describe it, and I get that the story needs to fit within the chapter, but it feels so rushed? 

I think it would’ve been better to cut the healer plot line completely and instead focus on the trip through the Maze. Yin could’ve recalled legends she’d heard about Jhi and the Maze and worked off of blind hope instead.

“The two brightest shone like silver eyes in a dark face, listening to Yin’s prayer” (66). A well-written line, for sure.

Okay, Yin is actually smart. Following the patches where Jhi had eaten? Actually a solid plan.

“‘What would I do without you?’” (71). Yin’s inconsistent feelings about Luan are just like Meilin’s about Jhi.

“It was a bird spider, a tarantula” (71) A bird spider?

Yin got turned into a slave??? What???

“Suddenly Yin felt like she understood everything around her” (76). Jhi’s powers?

“It was as if the night had slowed down around her” (76). There’s no way that’s not Jhi.

“The woman feinted left, and as Jhi lifted herself up to follow, the tarantula leaped up and snatched the carved green talisman” (78). Why didn’t Jhi just put Nao and the spider to sleep??? She could’ve???

So the “silver stars” Yin saw were literally Jhi’s eyes??? What???

“ . . . she had wielded the mighty Sword of Tang . . . ” (81). How’d she get it back??? What did she do???

Uraza

“Waddling across her lands with their ungainly two-legged walk” (85). Uraza’s thoughts about humans are fucking hilarious.

“Who did they think she was? . . . One of their precious spirit animals, to be forced into a life of cohabitation with them?” (86). Hmmmmm.

“She snarled, using a single claw to draw a cut across his chest. ‘Go,’ she rumbled at the pathetic man” (87). This whole sequence is strangely comedic. The drama of just swiping one single claw across in an ultimately useless way just to be threatening is just-

 “And there was another smell with them - something sour and unnatural” (88). Bile. Also, Uraza can sense the Bile, confirmed. I suspected that all Great Beasts could, but so far the only ones that have been confirmed are Uraza and Mulop.

“The massive leopard knew what that must have meant for the boy’s tribe” (90). How does she know about human customs??? I thought she only cared about them staying out of her hunting grounds?

“ . . . they were immune to poison and sickness” (92). Huh. That’s interesting.

“ . . . the black substance coating its blade rubbed into the wound” (93). Genuinely have no clue what this substance is. It can’t be Bile, so what is it?

“She knew that a Great Beast’s body would adapt to this substance, but it would take time” (94). She??? Just said??? That Great Beasts were immune to poison??? What’s this about adaptation now?

“Uraza drifted back to consciousness slowly as her body healed itself” (95). What is this plot hole? Is she immune to poison or not? Are we getting an explanation?

“The impertinence of this woman was shocking” (95). Um, she does have Uraza in a literal cage, though, so . . .

“‘They curse you as much as they curse me, if not more . . . ’” (96). Yeah, Uraza isn’t seeming too hot right now.

“Some looked at her with disappointment, some with despair, and some with contempt. Others simply looked past her, eyes dead and defeated” (97). Yeah, honestly Uraza as a morally gray character is pretty interesting.

“She admired his bravery, but he had the dumb loyalty of a dog, not the cunning of a cat” (98). I badly want to hear Great Beast Uraza’s thoughts on Briggan.

“For a moment, she considered simply swallowing the insolent monkey whole . . . ” (100). For realsies???

“‘So no one knows it’s buried in the Red Orchard?’” (102). Why doesn’t she just keep her talisman with her???

“ . . . they still would have no guarantee of catching up to the talisman” (104). Can’t Uraza, like, smell her talisman?

It’s funny how the Greencloaks were originally sabotages and thieves, and Rollan, the last of the four to join the Greencloaks, was also (kind of) a thief.

“ . . . now a whole crowd of the smelly things surrounded her” (112). I genuinely wonder whether Uraza thinks Abeke is smelly.

“Uraza was stunned - the ability to control exactly where a spirit animal appeared was not something she had ever heard of” (116). Oh my god, Abeke does this in the last book. Foreshadowing?

“‘Hold tight,’ Uraza commanded. ‘And if you tell anyone about this, I’ll eat you and your monkey both’” (118). Tembo: *literally tells the whole world in his journal records that he rode on Uraza’s back*

“ . . . the news that some of her fellows were helping these plunderers deeply troubled her” (120). Well, Kovo does have other motives.

Briggan

“The resistance called him what he truly was: the Devourer” (126). So the name “the Devourer” came after “the Reptile King”? Hm.

“ . . . she saw that it was a tiny bat - a vampire bat - and it had a distinctly malevolent look in its beady eyes” (129). Okay, definitely a Bile-bonded creature, then.

“It might be a Conqueror’s spirit animal, but even so, she couldn’t bring herself to kill it” (130). She’s going to have to be killing a lot of things during the war, so . . . 

“ . . . so he’d retrieved his bat and put the creature into its passive form” (131). This wording is so strange, but it's pretty much exactly how the Bile works, anyway.

“The river tumbled them over and over, like dice in a cupped palm” (132). This is such a neat line. 

“People even claimed that Briggan could bring visions. Glimpses of the future. Well, that’s not what she was getting, Katalin thought crankily” (134). Briggan can bring any kind of vision, right? Not just past ones?

“Sometimes it did bother her that her spirit animal was so fiercely independent” (136). Like Essix and Rollan. Parallels?

“Then she caught sight of something - a small hut” (137). Why didn’t the Great Pack warn the hut’s owner to stay away, though?

“‘I came out here to get away from people . . .’” (141). Why didn’t Briggan warn her away???

“ . . . a girl with no home, no family, no best friend” (144). What happened to her best friend???

“There was something eerie about the way it obeyed her. Something very different from the loyalty Tero showed her” (148). So it’s possible to tell if someone’s taken Bile?

“‘It’ll be a message to all the Great Beasts, that they better not mess with us!’” (148). This guy is giving new-recruit-that’s-drowning-in-an-oversized-uniform-and-an-oversized-helmet energy.

“‘I heard what you did, that you rescued him from a destiny worse than death, from a terrible bondage . . . ’” (156). Briggan knows what Bile is??? Huh.

So the dreams are Katalin’s possible path or what’ll happen if she doesn’t act??? This is kind of a roundabout way to do that-

“‘I will form them into an army. The Greencloaks’” (158). Briggan created the Greencloaks??? Wow.

Wait . . . wasn't Conor the first of the four to join the Greencloaks? Parallels???

Essix

“ . . . the four embattled nations of Erdas had united in a desperate offensive against the Conquerors” (162). Are they in Stetriol?

“The warriors who had followed her to Stetriol . . . ” (162). Okay, so the First Devourer War also ended in Stetriol??? Wow.

“Only Tellun could have created such an idyllic forest on so harsh a continent in such a brief time” (163). We still do not know the scope of Tellun’s powers, or even a basic understanding of what the guy can do. 

I love the way the Beasts bicker in this chapter. It’s just too funny.

“ . . . Dinesh, who looked more like a wrinkly gray hill than an elephant” (164). Woah, Essix, that is some comparison.

“‘New bonds are forming, but they are twisted and painful . . . ’” (166). Bonding sickness started during the war??? Really???

“‘Envision a vast colony of ants bringing down an ox. This would be our fate’” (168). Kind of headcanon Jhi to be someone that constantly talks in metaphors to the point where it becomes almost impressive that she can continue on like that.

“‘Dinesh, I’m more interested in the opinions of Great Beasts who can find their own food’” (169). Uraza lowkey reminds me of Rollan??? 

“‘Take that back this instant, or I, or I-’ ‘Will waddle out from under your canopy into the sunlight?’” (169). Uraza, you’re supposed to be convincing him.

“‘I miss Kovo,’ Suka said. ‘He told the best jokes’” (170). Excuse me???

“‘Don’t worry, Dinesh. I love that you domesticate them!’” (172). Ironic as heck.

“‘Nobody . . . likes me?’ Rumfuss exclaimed in surprise. ‘You have few charms,’ Cabaro said silkily. ‘Nonsense!’ Rumfuss shouted. ‘I am . . . the best!’” (173). I kind of feel bad for him, but insisting he’s the best makes him seem even more pathetic.

“‘Animals taken by the Bile lose their free will . . . ’” (174). Ironic that Jhi is the one that says this.

“‘ . . . I fear it will end in darkness.’ Rumfuss laughed brashly. ‘All days . . . end in darkness’” (178). Wow. What a line. Doesn’t really seem like something Rumfuss would say, though. More like . . . Cabaro, maybe?

“‘Mulop, you see more than you understand. Cabaro, you are a devastating waste of potential. I once mistook your pelt for golden, but it's clearly yellow.’ . . . ‘Halawir,’ Essix continued. ‘You have all the manners of royalty, and none of the substance . . . Suka, hiding from tough choices is a choice; and Rumfuss, never changing means never improving. Arax, how can you demand freedom for yourself but not for those in your care? Dinesh, don’t let your greatness be only a matter of size. Tellun . . . ’ . . . ‘I respect you, but I do not understand you. I fear you are too distant.’ . . . ‘I believe that Ninani does her best’” (180). Wow, Essix just roasted all the Great Beasts except Kovo, Greathon, the other Fallen, and Ninani. She really does go out with a bang.

Wait. How did Essix lose her talisman? It’s never mentioned . . . 

“Briggan’s jaws found the arm with the club” (183). The Evertree ending parallels?

I forgot that Kovo literally kills Briggan . . . like he literally cuts his throat open . . . 

“High above, a speck circled, almost at the limit of Essix’s sharp vision. Halawir?” (185). Yeah, what’s Halawir doing there?

“ . . . Essix discovered that Jhi, Briggan, and Uraza were already gone” (186). Oh no. That’s actually so sad.

“Time lost all meaning . . . there was a light” (186). Do spirit animals live in a void until they’re called or something?

Essix’s first thought about Rollan was “Interesting” (186). 

Final thoughts and rating (these ones are even longer than usual . . . sorry about that): 

In terms of ranking, I think I liked Essix’s chapter the best. Despite its flaws (mostly the lack of background: Why did Essix join? How did she lose her talisman?), it was done really well. You really get a good understanding of the relationships between the Great Beasts. I like that Uraza’s personality (and the personality of the others in general) were really displayed well. I’d say that Uraza’s chapter was the second best. It was written well, and Tembo’s personality really highlighted the story. The beginning of the Greencloaks was explained flawlessly, in my opinion, and despite the few plot holes (the poison thing), I like the short character development Uraza goes through. My third favorite was definitely Fel’s chapter. The parallels to Shane and the order of events was explained well, and I think it gave a good introduction to the setting, which is slightly different from the setting of the story during the main series. Fel’s feelings are shown well, which gives the story a better backbone.

My second-to-least favorite was Katalin’s chapter. Despite the backstory, I found it to be quite boring, almost? It was in an adventure/quest format, and personally I find that to be more suited to a full novel, not a short story. Besides Fel’s chapter, I found the narration from a human’s perspective to be really annoying. I thought that it would’ve been better to see this chapter from Briggan’s perspective. It’s established pretty early on that Katalin knew that the wolves knew she was there. The story could’ve been Briggan’s mental struggle about whether or not he wanted to join the fight against the Devourer. They also could’ve better developed his personality, as well. They story could’ve also followed Briggan following Katalin and slowly coming to recognize her bravery. I also think that the format of human-with–spirit-animal-goes-on-a-quest is very tired in this series and any deviation would’ve been welcome. Briggan’s ability to connect with someone through dreams would’ve also given us an insight into Katalin’s background, as well. My least favorite story in this collection was Yin’s. I found it to essentially have the same problems as Katalin’s story, but more so because of the rushedness of the pacing. I mentioned this already, but the whole storyline of Yin stealing the Sword of Tang to get the medicine that didn’t work was completely unnecessary, and even created some unanswered questions (How did Yin finally get the Sword of Tang back?). Instead, I think they should’ve just cut that entirely and have Yin work off of legends and myths she’d heard about Jhi and go straight into the Maze. This would give the story more time to breathe and make it feel less rushed. But better than that would’ve been, in my opinion, to have the story told completely from Jhi’s perspective. This would’ve fleshed out Jhi’s hatred for the Bile even more and given a new depth to her situation in the main series. Also, it’s mentioned that Jhi was following Yin the whole time, as well. So many of the plot points would remain the same. 

Rating: 8/10

[patriotismforstetriol]

I’ve recently realized something.

Meilin summoned Jhi with the Bile, right? But it’s clear she didn’t choose Jhi, and the whole thing with the Bile is that the human usually chooses which animal to bond with.

Which means that she summoned a “true” spirit animal with the Bile. The first person (known to us) since Feliandor to do so. I just thought that was interesting.

Huh! Somehow I always thought there were more but now I've racked my brain and ... yeah. An interesting parallel.

(You have to wonder how her dad & Sheyu thought it would go if she didn't summon a true animal. Would the Bile just pick whatever animal she was subconsciously most thinking about? The one she was standing closest to? Do you reckon the audience in attendance (or Lenori!) would see anything weird about one of the menagerie animals suddenly being a spirit animal?)

Another interesting weirdness about Bile bonds:

Tellun frees Shane from the Bile alongside Meilin on page 138 of The Evertree.

On page 160 of The Evertree, Tellun dies.

On page 165 of The Evertree, Gerathon dies.

On page 168, Shane still summons his animal to fight briefly alongside our heroes, and after that puts Grahv back into passive state to slip away.

So! So! There was a period of time after Gerathon was gone and the Bile theoretically held no power that Bile bonds still existed! Shane's bond still existed (for a while) after Tellun severed his connection to Gerathon! What was powering the Bile bonds? How did they work?

[bayofwolves]

Having some thoughts about the Great Battle, the one to end the First Devourer War.

I like the idea that Kovo, Gerathon and the Four Fallen were so massive that they couldn't help but destroy some of their own allies amidst the fighting. Especially the two traitors, because we know their soldiers were disposable to them, but the Four Fallen as well. As Uraza tangles with Gerathon, her claws rake through scores of Greencloaks. As Briggan and Kovo lunge for each other's throats, Greencloak and Conqueror and animal alike are crushed into oblivion beneath the two giants' feet. Adding to the senseless horror of it all.

I wish the Four Fallen had grievously wounded Kovo or Gerathon (or perhaps both), in such a way that the results are visible in the time of the Second Devourer War and strike fear in the hearts of their soldiers. I just think it would be cool if the two traitors, despite having survived the event that eliminated the Four, are permanently disfigured and only dull echoes of their former glory. Can you imagine if Gerathon's hood was torn to shreds by Uraza, her once beautiful scales marred by claw wounds that Tellun cursed to fester and rot? Or if part of Kovo's face was mutilated by Briggan's fangs and covered in scar tissue, with Essix's talon marks stretching across his shoulders, bare where the fur never grew back? They lived, but at the cost of being forever marked by the brethren they slew.

It would have been awesome if a Great Beast can only be killed by another Great Beast and they explained the Fall of the Four this way. Gerathon killed Uraza and Jhi with her venomous bite, Kovo ripped Briggan and Essix apart with his bare hands. No human blade could have felled them -- it was going against two of their own that resulted in their downfall. The fact it came to this is a great tragedy. Once, Briggan, Uraza, Jhi and Essix lived peacefully, even happily, with Kovo and Gerathon. They were brethren, forged by the same catastrophe; survivors who found comfort in one another (or so I like to believe). They would have walked beside each other for eons. They should never have met in battle. And when they did, they discovered they could destroy one another. This could be one reason as to why the remaining Great Beasts retreated into isolation and did not commune for hundreds of years -- perhaps, for the first time, they were afraid of each other.

In The Book of Shane, Shane reveals that Feliandor's grave is only symbolic because "when the Greencloaks had finished with him, there hadn't been enough left of him to bury". This might be one of the most haunting sentences in the series. In my canon, they dismembered him and paraded his head around, then burned him to ash. Some say Tembo kept the skull and hid it somewhere in the newly built Greenhaven, but Tembo himself denied these claims. (Meilin once searched the castle for the skull, to no avail.)

I personally would have liked to know more about the genocide of Stetriol (if it truly happened) and who took over as ruler after Feliandor. All my thinking about it led me to draft some plans for a short special edition, set in the universe of my rewrite, about Feliandor's successor and what happened in Stetriol after the defeat of the Conquerors. His name is Lysander. He is the cousin of Feliandor and the direct ancestor of the present-day royal family, including Shane. I'm still figuring him out, but I think y'all will like him.

I also think now would be the proper time to mention that in my rewrite of Tales of the Great Beasts, Essix gets a longer chapter where she bonds with a human like the other three. I haven't decided on the boy's name, but he is Amayan and has a jackrabbit spirit animal. He is bright, spirited and adventurous. The eldest son of the chief, but all of 16 at the war's end, he successfully convinces Essix to fight on the side of the Marked resistance. He is full of wonder and respect for nature, Essix most of all, and she finds herself warming up to him. She likes him enough to let him ride on her back and see the world he so loves from miles above, delighting in the way he spreads his arms and whoops into the wind. Essix, who is able to read souls, looks at him and sees something special in him. He is destined to do great things. This future of his is dashed when he dies in the Great Battle, though, cut down by some nameless soldier, just a boy with all the life and hope gone out of his eyes as Essix cradles him in her talons. She mourns him for a moment, then steels her heart and renews the charge.

[bayofwolves]

someone needs to draw feliandor and shane like this

[bayofwolves]

Rereading Fire and Ice

We're back again after a short break! Sorry this one took so long to get out, adult life caught up to me. As you might know, these posts are to discuss interesting tidbits and things I hadn't noticed before. Let's get right to it!

Once again, please mind the tags.

In A Revised History of Erdas, Rollan is native and has his long hair in two braids, so this cover messes with me. I really fuck with the colour scheme, though.

Meilin thinks Maya might be crazy. She also jokes about burning Pia's house down in a later chapter, which is a little unsettling! These are definitely just throwaway lines that aren't meant to be thought about again, but I find myself wishing the authors had purposefully written Maya to be a little bit off. It would add something to her character, at least.

Rollan is confirmed to be a person of colour! Yay! "His brown eyes were warm, his brown skin speckled with dirt from the road, his broad face comfortingly familiar." I wasn't a fan of the ambiguous "tan" description he got before.

It seems Abeke may have been physically abused in her home as well as emotionally. She says that if she had ever talked back to her father like Rollan did to Pia, she would be switch-whipped. Pojalo, mark my words, you will answer for everything you've done to hurt this girl.

Abeke being a Rain Dancer becomes relevant! Everybody cheer! Being near water helps her think clearly and make sense of the situation in Samis. Would have been nice to show her actually making it rain at any point like Rain Dancers are supposed to do, but I'll take this, I guess…

Aidana may have had Rollan when she was a teenager. This doesn't have any real merit, but I think it's very possible. And no matter her age at the time, given her circumstances -- living on the streets, mentally unwell and experiencing frequent blackouts -- I doubt her pregnancy was of her own will. Especially considering how she never mentions anything about Rollan's father, and he never asks.

Rollan doesn't seem to remember Wikerus. (Perhaps he only had traumatic memories of him, and his brain covered these up along with the memories of Aidana's sickness.) He probably would have mentioned to the Greencloaks that his mother was Marked if he'd known.

Zerif must have found and cured Aidana while he was in Concorba seeking Rollan and Essix. I doubt he would have visited that city on two separate occasions. He likely came across her after losing Rollan to Olvan. Another element of tragedy to their story: Aidana was possibly just hours or minutes too late to safely reunite with her son.

Aidana talks about the Devourer helping people, seeking out those afflicted by the bonding sickness and curing them with the Bile. It's unclear if she means Gar or Shane by this, but I'm inclined to believe the latter. In that case, it would have been interesting to see some of this -- Shane finding people the Greencloaks passed over and taking their pain away. He would have genuinely thought he was doing something right, even if he was offering them up to Gerathon in the process.

Pia may have been alive in Feliandor's time, as Rollan notices she doesn't seem surprised to learn of the new war. This is entirely possible, as Suka presumably froze herself and stopped visiting Samis soon after the Fall of the Four in the First Devourer War.

The animal that attacks the group's boat on their way to Arctica isn't fully revealed. I hope it was a creature that doesn't exist on Earth. I imagine a hippocampus or something like it, since the noise made when Tarik strikes it is described as sounding like a wet horse's flank.

Tarik's bond with Lumeo gives him the power to control water. Wish we'd seen more of this.

Abeke has never seen hail before their nights in Arctica.

Conor singing has always been one of the most memorable parts of this book for me. I wish there'd been other instances of him singing folk songs for the group.

So as we've seen with Suka, Great Beasts can devolve into a beast-like state -- presumably if they are comatose for a long period of time. Suka had probably been asleep for hundreds of years, so it makes sense that her mind would be delayed.

Jhi calming Suka reminds me of what Meilin's bond token was intended to do. It would have been a neat callback to what happened here if it had stopped Song's murderous rage.

Halawir's identity as the Betrayer has actually been hinted at in a few books prior to the reveal, this one and Tales of the Great Beasts. Here, it's clear that him asking for Suka's talisman meant he was up to something.

Abeke and Maya's little conversation where they hold hands for comfort and call each other magical is the gayest thing these books have given us since... Suka and Jhi, a few chapters ago. It's a really sweet but also sad moment, Maya revealing that she is traumatized and Abeke not knowing how to help. Definitely one of my favourite parts.

The dream Conor has about the group all wearing strange shoes could have actually had some meaning behind it. The laces on Meilin's dumpling shoes that stretch behind them for miles could symbolize her Bile bond leading the Conquerors to them. Abeke falling through the ice with her fire shoes, but Conor being unable to save her, could foreshadow her being captured by the Conquerors in the next book. As you may recall, Conor was not present and could not do anything when this happened.

I don't believe Shane had any intention of cutting Uraza off Abeke's skin. It's this line for me: "Shane is too much of a diplomat, so Zerif made sure we [Ana and Tahlia] came along and enforced the plan. He was especially hurt by Abeke's betrayal." I'm assuming Shane knew of the plan, and may have been okay with threatening Abeke to get what he wanted (similar to how he used Achi to win his fight against Lishay in The Book of Shane: Vendetta), but wasn't going to actually harm her. He knew he could get the talisman another way. Zerif, on the other hand, wanted Abeke to suffer and so sent two of his minions along. Less plausible is the chance Shane wasn't even in on it to begin with, and Zerif (and his minions) deliberately conspired behind his back. (I'm all for the Conquerors defying Shane's authority, given that ARHoE has Drina stage a coup, so I find this possibility particularly intriguing.)

Kind of wish Abeke had ridden on Great Briggan with Conor in the final battle. Would have made for an iconic scene.

Poor Abeke is concussed during the final battle. I never spotted this growing up because I've never had a concussion and didn't know the signs. I thought she was just tripping, to be honest.

Rollan begins to slip into suicidal ideation after his mom tries to kill him. This book has not been kind to our protagonists, not one bit.

On this quest, the team has done two terrible things: destroyed the Ice Palace, a place built by generations of Ardu, and condemned the entire village of Samis to death. And all for a talisman that slips out of their hands, no less.

My final thoughts on Fire and Ice are mixed. There were some inconsistencies and relapses in character development, and while I can chalk it up to being a product of the many different authors working on this series, it still got on my nerves a little. Let's be real, Conor's animosity towards Shane came out of nowhere and is wildly out of character for him. Rollan shouldn't have still been grating on Conor for giving away the Iron Boar when they resolved that conflict back in Blood Ties. It's a little messy. But I liked the rest. They introduced some elements in this one that really grabbed me. I absolutely love Aidana and her relationship with Rollan; she's a good example of how the war is not so black and white. I love how our protagonists firmly believe anything they do is justified because it's for the greater good, choosing to ignore the destruction they leave behind. I love the depth Rollan got, though it unfortunately came at the expense of other characters'. I wish they hadn't waited to develop Maya until we were nearing the end; I really enjoyed her when they gave her a bigger role. The focus this author gave Conor and Abeke has always been a highlight of the series for me; their relationship is so sweet and caring, though I see it as more platonic than anything. And of course, I loved the darker elements that this book had. Not only that, but it left me in emotional pain, which is exactly what I need to consider something a good read.

All in all, another solid addition to the series. This journey hurt our protagonists so much, and it hurt me.

This is part of an ongoing series.

Wild Born | Hunted | Blood Ties | Fire and Ice | Against the Tide | Rise and Fall | The Evertree

Immortal Guardians | Broken Ground | The Return | The Burning Tide

Heart of the Land | The Wildcat's Claw | Stormspeaker | The Dragon's Eye

Tales of the Great Beasts | The Book of Shane | Tales of the Fallen Beasts

[bayofwolves]

rereading spirit animals and realizing that the devourer wars are so much more nuanced than i used to think

like, feliandor was definitely wrong for starting the first one in order to colonize land for his nation. but when it was over, the greencloaks -- the supposed good guys -- carried out a genocide on the people of stetriol.

and in the second one, shane had every right to feel how he felt. the greencloaks had abandoned his people to centuries of torment and i agree with him for fighting back. but once again, the conquerors' methods were inexcusable. the atrocities they committed were just as horrible as their enemies'.

but of course, even though both sides had their faults, the greencloaks were never held accountable for what they did to stetriol. they were persecuted for their involvement in the war with the wyrm, yes, but what about before that? when they wiped out a nation and continued to hide what they'd done? when they used the nectar to dominate the world, withholding its lifesaving power from anyone they deemed not worthy?

the greencloaks allowed stetriol to be forgotten, and forgotten it still seems to be.

[bladealvis]

Remember that devourer fucker that son of a bitch was named feliandor

- The opening line to Shane’s speech to the entire population of Stetriol

[bladealvis]

Feliandor: See ya later, alligator.

Shane: After a while, crocodile.