#growing up in thymara

[prose-priest-potentate]

Once upon a time, the girls get kidnapped or trapped or something by one of the evil cults in their region - Imrath and Nyerg figure it out first, roaming around their usual haunts looking for them, so the first thing Imrath does is gear himself up in as much of a disguise as he can and marches his tail straight into danger after his sisters.

Nyerg is objectiely correct, but our boy isn't thinking, he's about to make his race proud.

[jewishdainix]

I think the main problem of the rainwild chronicals stems from the fact tha5 the there isnt enough plot time for the story to properly delve into the psyche of the characters and let them develop, losing much of the appeal most rote books have. Those are annoying teenagers that don't go through all the trauma other rote characters do to change to not-annoying teenagers (like in liveships) the characters do , but neither doe sthe story take place over a long enough period of time for them to develop into adults (like fitz in the farseer trilogy)

When you get to the f&f trilogy you see how much they truely developed and found their place and became adults (encluding some changes that seem drastic, because it has been so long in world since they were who they were in their own series). Its just kind of dissapointing how so many characters we just didnt get to see the development of, because of the lack of time for it in the rain wild chronicles themselves.

[annot8]

Top 20 RotE characters!

My final piece of ranking for this series!

There will be some spoilers in this!

20. Nettle

- If there’s one thing I love, it’s difficult women. Nettle is as harsh as her name suggests. I love young Nettle with her dream magic and how completely kind she is to Thick. And I love older Nettle, who doesn’t mind hurting Fitz’s feeling for Bee’s benefit. She is unforgiving and always strives to do what she thinks is best - even if she doesn’t always know what’s best.

19. Thymara

- Definitely my favourite Rain Wild character. She had my favourite POV in those books as well. I liked how her story paralleled Sintara’s, with her dragon features becoming more beautiful, getting her wings, and her determination to be her own woman. I didn’t love that she ended up with Tats and ended up having a kid with him, but again, it mirrored Sintara’s mating with Mercor.

18. Starling Birdsong

- are we seeing a theme? Starling is so great because she simply does not care if people like her personality. She’s beautiful, she’s talented, and she got her song. The way she destroyed Fitz in Golden Fool was a peak moment in this series. And something i love so much is that no matter how much Fitz complains about her or thinks she’s annoying, he can’t help but like her.

17. Chade Fallstar

- I hate him, I love him, he’s the worst, he’s the best. I’ve said this before - I have complicated feelings about Chade but regardless, they are strong feelings. Ngl, I misjudged his age and thought he was about 80 in the first book so when he made it to the last book?? Incredible. His death got me in a way that I really didn’t expect it to.

16. Dutiful Farseer

- My boy! He had some great development from the most fifteen year old boy ever, to a genuinely good king. I loved his dynamic with Fitz in Fool's Errand. It was really on sight with those two and it was entertaining the entire time. 

15. Selden Vestrit

- I saw someone say once that Selden felt like a random npc who managed to get a nat20 on charisma. He's great in Ship of Destiny, and fantastic in the Rain Wild Chronicles. His bond with Chassim was unexpected but so so lovely. 

14. Molly Chandler

- I understand why people don't like her. Her character gets in the way of Fitzloved. Soz guys, but I've seen too many female characters get hate because fans were rooting for a mlm ship. Don't get me wrong, its frustrating but Molly never inserts herself in Fitz's life. It the other way around. I think people don't like her less because of who she is and more because of what she represents. She's a simple life, and is the face of Fitz's delusion. But I love her. She's down to earth, she's rough around the edges, she's a simple gal who wants a simple life.

13. Etta

- Etta!!! From a Divvytown prostitute to Queen of the Pirate Isles??? Insane, incredible, showstopping. One thing that I absolutely love about her that I think is overlooked is that, despite how much Kennit was pushing for it and how much Wintrow was pining for her, it did not even cross her mind to get with this 15 year old boy. Kennit is all like 'teach the boys your… skills.' and she's like, ah yes, I will teach him how to use knives. Queen behaviour. 

12. Paragon

- Everyone's favourite murderous boat! His dynamic with Amber is great, and his friendship with Brashen is really underrated! He goes from being a grumpy old man to a bratty little boy in seconds (hmmm maybe the similarities between he and Fitz go past the face). He's unpredictable and he will kill again!

11. Althea Vestrit

- I fell in love with her immediately. She's rude to Kyle and then spends the next two weeks sleeping on the floor so she can be closer to Vivacia. She had my heart from the get go. Her ending will always leave a bitter taste in my mouth but none of it is her fault. She starts off a little immature and really grows into a woman worthy of captaining her own ship.

10. Wintrow Haven

- Ship of Magic!Wintrow has my entire heart. He frustrates me to no end with how he treats Vivacia but his arc is insane. He's generally an honourable guy. He frees the slaves and aids in the overthrowing of his father. He becomes a competent sailor and always shows Etta kindness. And despite his corruption by Kennit, he retains his moral compass and grows to be a good guy. I choose to ignore him in Ship of Destiny (just like Robin Hobb oops-) because I don't know who that man is :)

9. Malta Vestrit

- Without a doubt the best Liveships character. She has some of the best development I've ever seen. She's really the Amy March of Bingtown. She's self-centred, annoying, and that girlllllll. I love her so much. She's so clever and achieves so much.

8. Verity Farseer

- MY KING! treated Fitz like a human being which, in this book, is a step up from how most people treat him - especially when he's a boy. He's always a friendly face, even when he's so bogged down by defending the entirety of the Six Duchies with no thanks. He loved very honestly and had great respect for people who deserved it. And in the end, he made the ultimate sacrifice for his people for his folk. 

7. Bee Farseer

- She's just as much my daughter as she is Molly's, Fitz's, Nighteyes', and Beloved's. She won me over so quickly, and just when I thought I couldn't love her more, she started biting. I hope one day we see more of her!

6. LadyPatience

- You should have been mine???????? Such a fun, unapologetic character. She is so herself. I feel so seen by her constant, ever-changing hobbies and messy room. She and Lacey are the duo of the century.

5. Burrich

- When I read a book and I fancy a character, I tend to stay loyal to that character. I can love all of the characters, but I only love one. I took one look at Burrich and knew i'd found my man. His parenting skills were questionable at time, but he was doing what he thought was right. He gave up his life to raise Chivalry's son. He stepped up and took care of Molly with no expectations. He raised Nettle like she was his own. Just a solid, good man.

4. Nighteyes

- The best parent in this whole series. He's sarcastic, he's clever, and he's got such an entertaining dry sense of humour. He's a great influence on Fitz and he isn't afraid to call him out. The Wit is such a fantastic aspect of this series and the wit-bond that Fitz and Nighteyes share is so so beautiful. 

3. Kettricken

My Queen. I haven't felt this strongly about a character in a long time. Always a beacon of honour in a story of political intrigue, secrets, and betrayal. They really lucked out with this arranged marriage. Not a single person in this story deserved her. 

2. Beloved

- Fool, Amber, Lord Golden, Beloved. What a character. every facet of this character is so interesting and deep and beautiful. Amber was THE character in Liveships, the Fool was THE character in Farseer, Beloved with THE character in Tawny Man. THE CHARACTER OF ALL TIME.

Fitz

- You get it.

[blackandwhitemotley]

Fool’s Quest reread: notes and forgotten facts #4

Shine was nearly forced into a marriage of convenience with a gay man

There are over a dozen coteries and nearly a score of Solos

Mage Grey claims to be from a place called Satine

A Skill pillar works best when installed near its home quarry

The Fool’s messenger with the butterfly cloak was called Incalu

Fitz says that Reyn is not as “finely made” as Rapskal

Phron has golden hair and blue scaling

Chade started scrying from a young age, and he would get visions of Shrewd growing up in Buckkeep Castle

Nortel has a wife called Maude and a son named Rellik

Tats and Thymara’s daughter is called Fillia and she asks Fitz to give her one of her father’s tattoos (a horse on one cheek)

[caitlinsmithfmp2]

The Dragon Keeper

Published in 2009 by female American author Robin Hobb, “The Dragon Keeper” is a new extension to the authors fantasy worlds, having written three trilogies before, comprised of the “The Farseer Trilogy”, “Liveship Traders Trilogy” and “The Tawny Man Trilogy”. Some of her newest books are a part of “The Rain Wild Chronicles” and “The Dragon Keeper” is the first in this series, set in a third person narrative that follows multiple of the main characters, the book is very popular with fantasy and dragon fans, it is set in a real lifelike world where dragons have become an almost extinct species, so could be useful when in comparison to my story idea. 

The story starts with us seeing a small group of young serpents swimming upriver, guided by an adult dragon ,they aim to reach the top of the river where they will encase themselves and hatch into dragons, many of the serpents have died along the way and the ones remaining are all weak. With the help of the adult dragon they make it to the a safe point in the river and become encased in eggs, weeks later, many locals of Rain Wilds come to visit the eggs and wait for them to hatch. One of these people, a young girls called Thymara who was deformed at birth also comes to visit the eggs and is shocked to see that the new dragonlings are all weak and malformed, all unable to fly and defend themselves. One of these dragons, a blue dragon named Sintara, bonds with Thymara is distraught to find that she is nowhere near the dragon she had imagines and becomes very distressed, the other dragons too are agitated and as they grow, begin causing chaos to the surrounding area. Deciding that something needs to be done, it is suggested that the dragons relocate using their ancestral memories to find the Elderling dragon city of Kelsingra. Multiple keepers are chosen to help the dragons on their way to the ancient city, Thymara included and the story follows their struggles as the deformed creatures try to find the city and a new home of the remainder of their kind.

The concept is very interesting, I like the overall premise of it but avoided talking about certain parts of its summary as there are many unneeded details that don't add anything to the story. There is a wide variety of different characters, each has a fairly complex name and I feel although keeping track of each of the characters would be quite difficult, especially as parts of the story don’t make much sense eg. there's a living boat in it for some reason. It is a really interesting idea, however, I feel although it could of been done better, I like aspects such as the dragons being born disfigured and needing human help, however, aspects such as acidic rivers, a talking boat and an unneeded rape scene detract from the story for me and make me believe I could write a better version of the story. It is likely not the type of book I would read due to this and would be better when focusing on the main premise, however it relates quite less in some ways to my story. For example, one of the dragon in my stories is blind meaning it needs help when moving around, this can make the creature appear useless however she has abilities that make up for this. It is also set in a similar world to mine where dragons are or were real but are either extinct or very rare, it is unknown when or where “The Dragon Keeper” is set, however, it seems like it could be a similar setting to mine, around the 18th or 19th century. The book has three sequels that tell the rest of the journey towards Kelsingra, these are comprised of Dragon Haven, City of Dragons and the Blood of Dragons, I could research these in the future as each book seems fairly complex and it would help me add to my ideas and blog.

[katiesclassicbooks]

Review: Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb

About: 

Dragon Haven was written by Robin Hobb and published in 2010. It is the second book in The Rain Wild Chronicles, which is the fourth sub series in The Realm of the Elderlings. This book continues where the first book left off. The first book was a set up book and this book is all about a journey. A journey up the Rain Wild river in search of the old city of Kelsingra. This didn’t seem to focus as much on the actually journey as much as the journey of the characters and their growth on this journey as well as the dragons and their relationships with their keepers. 

Did I like It?: 

I loved this book! I loved the first one in the series too, but I think I loved this more. What Robin Hobb does best are characters. Character arcs, development and relationships to each other. It was so great seeing our main characters evolve in this one. Alise, the Bingtown lady and Dragon scholar, Leftrin, captain of a Liveship river barge, Thymara, one of the dragon keepers, Sedric, Alise’s friend and Bingtown dandy, as well as the dragon Sinatra. I’m fond of all of the human characters. I think Alise is my favorite, perhaps as a fellow redhead. She really started to transform and go after her passions. She’s getting what she deserves in life. Leftrin hasn’t had such a big arc, but he’s a really good guy and I always liked his point of view and relationship with Alise. Thymara as well as the other dragon keepers were really growing up and coming of age in this one. Discovering sexual feelings for the first time, grappling with the facts of life and yet growing closer to their dragons. Part of what made this book so good was the growing relationship between the dragons and the humans. Before, the dragons seemed more animalistic and I wanted to be interested, but I’d found sections about them rather boring. This book really changed that. I’m also really seeing what the Fool meant in one of the other series about how dragons needed to return to this world to keep humans in check. To reflect back to them their greed, selfishness and vanity. Yet, they bond with the humans and are capable of love as well. It’s definitely apparent though that they are not perfect and reflect back to the humans their shortcomings just in a more powerful way. I found Sedric’s relationship with one of the dragons the most endearing and potentially sweet. Perhaps because it was so unexpected.  Sedric definitely had the most character arc, which was really nice to see. We see him turn from a fancy, prissy Bingtown dandy who was deceiving those around him, to someone who just wants love and starts to see how he can earn that. 

Do I Recommend it?: 

Yes, continue on with The Rain Wild Chronicles, so far it keeps getting better in my opinion and Robin Hobb is as amazing as ever this far in The Realm of the Elderlings. 

~Katie 

[ajora]

With this, I finished the Rain Wilds Chronicles. Spoilers ahead.

The good:

One of those things Hobb excels at is that she knows ships and seamanship and it shows. It shows more in the Liveship Traders series, and this series is focused more on the dragon keepers, but with Tarman and Leftrin being major characters escorting the dragons to their ancestral home, you get a taste of her research and probable experience in the matter.

The dragons start off as severely developmentally disabled and experience abuse and neglect since their emergence from their cocoons. As a result, they’re distrustful towards humans and manipulate them. And honestly, can you blame them? I found it believable and honestly did not regret the fact that one of them kinda... ate a hunter who tried to kill her to butcher her and sell her parts. And their personalities varied considerably, so you could be annoyed at Sintara’s toxic relationship with her keeper, but then there’s Mercor keeping the other dragons on a decent moral heading and acting as the voice of reason.

It should be mentioned that their developmental disabilities dwindle the closer they get to their magic foodsource, and direct ingestion of that foodsource and exposure to heat helps them grow into traditional dragons.

No but really, the dragons are fantastic, independent, and more human than they want to admit. This is a nice contrast to Anne McCaffrey’s big, loving alien dragons who were genetically engineered to bond with humans from hatching and cannot live without them, and distinct from GRRM’s otherworldly, inscrutable magic creatures who may or may not be animalistic tbh I forgot because GRRM’s writing just doesn’t stick with me and I find it kind of dull and no one should ever compare him to JRRT. They’re more in the spirit of Smaug and Gorbash than Ramoth.

Now that I think about it, a lot of the dragon cultural stuff reminds me of the Dragon Knight* series by Gordon Dickson. Which is actually great because one of the Dragon Knight series’ strongest points was the dragon cultures and that Gorbash was absolutely not a house pet.

This dovetails nicely into the other thing: Hobb is great at worldbuilding and character development. I found Alise and Thymara’s developments believable, and Sedric’s turn from selfish Bingtown dandy to decent human being and dragon keeper willing to hunt for his dragon and actually do physical labor was delightful.

Also? Hobb does what McCaffrey, Dickson, and Martin don’t, and her gay male characters are very prominent and vary significantly. Sedric’s counterpart is both reminiscent of The Picture of Dorian Gray and the kind of bastard you love to hate.

The bad:

Hobb’s villains tend to lean a bit cartoonish, I think. Not necessarily a bad thing, but two of them ended up being eaten by dragons and the other is killed offscreen by dragons, iirc.

I don’t think Hobb knows lesbians and bisexual women exist, so she loses points there. Her female characters are fantastic, but I’m always somehow disappointed when they end up with men.

I suspect Hobb falls into the McCaffrey trap of believing that motherhood is the pinnacle of womanhood, and that’s disappointing.

Chalced always feels a bit like orientalism run amok and that’s a bit of a stain right there that’s always in the back of my head.

Never shall I forget her rant about fanfics. I find the hypocrisy hilarious, given that I can clearly see the influences of the works of others in her own works. 

* If you’re my age, you may recognize an extremely loose adaptation of his first novel in the series, The Dragon and the George, as Flight of Dragons.

[korvidian]

Drew this fellow tonight. A kind of mishmash creature I’m calling Thymarae

Not pictured: Under the hooves are three-toed gripping hands that fold up/retract for running but when they want to become arboreal they’re kind of like koalas or lemurs. Their main hands have 7 digits, including 2 ‘thumbs’. The tail also helps them grab onto things and keep balance while running. The eat plants (including fruit/vegetables, seeds, and flowers) and insects, and are a race well known for their extensive trade networks. 

They shed their horns for the cold season and frequently fashion them into totems, weapons, drinking horns, and other pieces of art/practical belongings for trade. The horns are very sensitive and along with their keen hearing help them sense vibrations in the air to detect predators.

Their back leg spurs are thin and sharp and are for cutting into predators that attack from behind. They break off fairly easily but also grow back.

The skin on their head, chest, and arms before the fur starts is smooth but thick and is resistant to scratches. Their lower bodies are covered in thin fur that grows thick for the cold season and is shed as the weather heats up again.

They decorate themselves with metallic paints and small, colourful stones they embed in their skin.

[elderlingacademic]

Forgotten Facts: Dragon Haven

A list of pieces of information I either never noticed or forgot about, gathered during my reread. For posts on the other Robin Hobb books, see the forgotten facts tag.

1. Leftrin normally worships Sa, if anyone, but has been known to “bribe” El by pouring brandy into the river and praying. 

2. Tarman, in one of his rare conversations with Leftrin, refers to Sedric as “the sneaking whiner”.

3. Skelly gets comfortable enough with Thymara to call her “sis”.

4. It is implied that the wizardwood coccoon used to make the Tarman’s legs was previously Sessurea, of Maulkin’s tangle.

5. When Hest cuts off all financial support for Alise and Sedric, Sedric’s sister Sophie writes to extend them credit instead.

6. While Trehaug is built like a rabbit warren, Cassarick is more made up of seperate buildings.

7. Bronze Relpda gains lines of black on her wings as she grows.

8. Both Sedric and Alise shared their own spare clothes out among the keepers.

9. When Alise spears her first fish, she’s so startled that she screams and ends up in the water.

10. In his locket, Sedric replaced Hest’s picture with a tiny scale from Relpda.

[redscullyrevival]

Blood of Dragons: Rain Wilds Chronicles Rundown

Mixing up the format a little bit today, but we’ll make it through @sonnetscrewdriver!

Thymara

First lets state the truth: Thymara has changed a lot from the first book.

Thymara has undoubtedly grown and has gone on to make her own rules, her biggest change being she has learned to love and understand herself.

I see that, Hobb has made that clear.

What’s hard about Thymara is that while I’ve come far in appreciating her as a character, in the end I don’t really agree with her views.

Which isn’t like a big deal. It would be if Hobb didn’t express her character’s as well as she does but like most characters in Realm of the Elderlings I understand Thymara. 

I get her.

I just don’t agree with her, and I’m not talking about her “choosing” Tats over Rapskal, although the two boys do represent narrative ideas so in a way they are connected - but whatever ignore that for now lol.

Rapskal was being an asshole during his and Thymara’s confrontation right before the dragon’s flight to Chalced. He was angry and hurt and probably scared and was lashing out with words and accusations. 

But while he was in the wrong, he wasn’t making stuff up.

“How is that fair? What sort of love did you have for me, that demands that I must always remain the same?” - that’s some real shit right there.

“You still can’t step away and decide things for yourself.” - like DAMN!

This Elderling series was all about changing the rules, changing social structures, just as much as it was about physical changes being tied to our inner personal changes. 

I mean, it’s not a ~coincidence~ all the Keepers are adolescents; The Rain Wilds Chronicles is a unveiled (hah!) coming of age story displaying all the insecurity, fear, sexuality, mental tribulation and physical changes one experiences when stepping into adulthood - and when social constructs are restructured anew.

And at the end of the story Thymara is still pretty childish. 

Which isn’t inherently bad! 

Thymara is just going much slower than others are. She is choosing to go slower and that’s her choice and it’s a choice expressed well within her character arc, her agency is clear. 

What I disagree with is Thymara’s belief that her views, her chosen pace, is ‘correct’ (and I’m a little miffed the narrative leans towards supporting her view, which in my opinion dilutes the potency of the CHANGING THE RULES! themes).

Now, Thymara doesn’t express this directly towards others that often and really the only person she seems intent on passing judgement on is Rapskal (well, and Jerd) - and a part of that is because Rapskal puts her in that position, he pulls just as much as he pushes that’s true.

Which is why Tat’s won out in the romance department and that was the right choice for those characters in keeping their characterization honest. 

My point is that Thymara has made the correct choice for herself, that’s thoroughly explored, but her continued unease about whatever everyone else is doing and how they are changing (especially Rapskal) is telling. 

And as a third independent thinking party Thymara comes off as a bit pious to me. 

I feel in my bones if we ever come across her again we may see her look back on her early steps into adulthood with embarrassment.

Thymara is going to come out of her adolescence a lot safer, a lot sturdier then others due to her slow pace but not necessarily more emotionally or mentally secure. 

Her risks remain low, Thymara only starts to actively engage her own life at the end of the tale.  

But what was her last moment in the series? She flew! However briefly. 

I believe Thymara’s wings are representative of the idea that she is going to continue growing, that eventually she’ll be higher than everyone and when she rises her perspective will drastically shift. 

Because time is it’s own change; aging is it’s own change; incorporating experience into your life is it’s own change; and Thymara has taken the tortoise route. 

Then there is this guy:

Rapskal

Rapskal is in the opposite direction of Thymara with his own terrifying adolescence pitfalls.

Rapskal believes that because he has absorbed memories of older people (in passage of time and age) he thus has experience - and that’s somewhat true! 

Reyn confirms this when he is shocked that Rapskal can beat him in swordplay. Rapskal’s body absorbs and remembers Tellator as much as his mind; he is built mentally different than the other Elderlings and he is stronger both in body and conviction. 

The rub is that Rapskal uses memory stones as shorthand for his own existence, uses them to bypass his own early stage adulthood and skip to being someone new entirely. 

He’s already committed to his new perspective, he has already flown whereas Thymara is only starting to believe that maybe someday she can.

But he is still someone of his own making, incorporated memories and all!

Rapskal has made choices just as much as Thymara has. Neither of them are wrong in their choice because the point is that the choices belong to them individually, the issue is that they can’t see it that way yet.

Because that’s growing up; can't see the forest for the trees.

And sometimes people get lost and/or grow apart. 

Thymara shouldn’t have sat around and sulked and felt sad about how SHE was loosing her friend Rapskal - she thought of him only as how he related to herself and what she wanted him to be.

Rapskal shouldn’t have pressured Thymara into treating the memories she absorbed as he was treating the ones he did, he made the same adolescent mistake when it comes to growing up in close proximity with others - he too considered her as how she related to himself and what he wanted her to be to him. 

Basically Thymara and Rapskal are seriously convincing teenage protagonists! LOL

Those teenage years are full of selfishness, confusing, draining, terrifying, selfishness. They are! That’s what’s so hard about them, you don’t see it until you’re past it, until you’re above it.

And I think that’s the deal with Elderling’s coming from Humanity.

Check it:

Plot/Narrative/Setting

We know now that Elderlings come from humans; so in a lot of ways we can view humanity as an adolescent stage.

Kelsingra itself is like the adult form of Trehaug; traveling up river the water starts to run clear and the ground begins to firm.  

Growing up is hard, the physical changes take getting use to; the solid ground feels odd compared to the swinging imbalance of the last place.

Humanity is changing to survive and learning to coexist with dragons once again; the growing pains of which is it’s own social, ideological, adolescence.

I think you get my point!

No one knows exactly what they’re doing. Everyone is just making Elderling society up as they go for the most part - the beautiful self discovery and terrifying responsibility of adulthood transferred onto an entirely new race and society.  

It’s a little frustrating we won’t get to directly see the Elderling’s ascend but they’re now far too big a presence in the narrative space to not come back to, possibly even sooner than later! I’m excited to see what Fiz and The Fool has to offer me and what kind of thematic extension it may be to the end of Rain Wilds.

Because this last book feels like another set up, doesn’t it?just a little bit? It feels like Blood of Dragons is leaning into another book - but that could just be the anticlimactic tone lol.

I’m super excited to go back to Fiz and see how he’s doing and what nonsense he’ll be sucked into next but, again, it’s frustrating I won’t get to experience the keeper’s owning their choices and owning adulthood - as with Thymara I’m really pressed to see how time and age will change their views of their journey up the river and into Elderings. I don’t want to wait! Haha, silly. 

Something that was disappointing with the end of this book is that because the cast is so large it doesn't feel like a lot of people get any kind of closure for the reader, you know?  

Tats and Thymara getting the last scene made me a little worried, like maybe I misunderstood the series? I worried that maybe their relationship meant more to the narrative then I had picked up on simply because it was given the weighty place of being the last scene, whereas many loose threads among the many other characters were left dangling.

So that was a bit unsatisfying. 

But all in all most everyone got their grand (to little) moments of confirmation in who they’ve become.

Not my favorite book in the series but still a solid entry!

AND MY BABIES LIVED! Yaaayayyaayayaaaaaaaaaa *gurgle* 

Alise

Alise is off and rolling! I hope she gets the recognition she deserves for her scholarly work and I hope she continues to pursue it, just as I hope she continues to pursue her new life.

I appreciated how quickly Alise found happiness, found what she wanted, and didn’t torture herself with denying herself that happiness (unlike some Six Duchies men I know...)

Alise and Leftrin’s bond is secure and I really liked how the confrontation with Hest was at no point played for will-she-won’t-she-drama, we knew she had no remote desire to return to hest, no hesitation to cast him aside to his face. 

Alise’s total and instant shutdown of Hest was hard won on her part and I liked how it wasn’t treated in the narrative like this glorified shiny moment but rather a resented necessity. 

Captain Leftrin

The sweetest and most stoic man, partner to my favorite Liveship. 

Just a treat. <3

Sedric

Good job Sedric! Well done!

Sedric has come a long way and still has further to go.

His struggle with trying to untangle himself from what Hest shaped him into and then what of that shape he genuinely enjoys or wants to discard is interesting stuff that I wish we could have dug into a little deeper - another draw back of having such a huge cast.

Overall we leave Sedric in a good place, I get the feeling he’ll settle into a place of some importance in new Elderling society and I hope his organization and communication skills are put to good use, for his and other’s benefit. 

Precious man. 

Tats

So I’m sitting here, trying to think of what to write about for Tats and the first thing I did was think, “Well, why did Thymara want?”

Why am I thinking about Thymara when I’m trying to talk about Tats?!

That’s what’s so frustrating to me about this character! 

I. Don’t. Know. Him.

I don’t want to say Tats is boring but Tats is borning.

He is nice.

He is patient.

That’s it?

I’m indifferent to Tats and Thymara ending up together. I’m not invested in their relationship and never was, nor was I ever really sold on the non-love-triangle stuff.

And that’s why the ending of the series felt like maybe I missed something? LOL 

Like, I was sitting there going “Wait, really? We’re ending on this note with these two? Oh shit I didn’t invest right.” 

It was a weird realization! I also realized I didn’t care lol 

I think I still got plenty out of the series and understood the wider themes just fine even if the specific route of Thymara/Tats eluded me.

Highlighted Passages

She could change. She wasn’t chained to her past. She could become someone who wasn’t merely a product of what others had done to her. It wasn’t too late.

Isn’t it what humans have done for generations? We claim the land as ours and turn it to our purposes. We change the channels of rivers and the face of the land so that we can travel by boat or grow a crop or graze cattle. And we think it only natural that we should shape the whole world to be comfortable and yielding for humankind. Why should dragons be any different in how they perceive the world?

From Ronica Vestrit of the Vestrit Traders, Bingtown To Whatever Incompetent Bird Handler is accepting messages in Cassarick

Humans could never accept the world as it was and live in it. They were always breaking it and living among the shattered pieces.

She’d had to change her image of herself from the very bones out. Ultimately, she knew, it had been good for her. That did not mean she enjoyed being reminded of it.

When she ventured into her memory sampling, it was for a specific purpose and she kept her attention tightly focused on what she wanted to know, refusing all other tugs at her attention. It was like diving into deep cold water to retrieve a sparkling stone.

It was Tarman’s way, and for himself, Leftrin was grateful that his liveship was more taciturn than most. He did not think he could have enjoyed a chatterbox like the Ophelia or a moody and dramatic ship like the Paragon. But there, it was probably like it was for children. Each parent thought his was the best, and doubtless every captain would prefer his own liveship to any other.

She tried to see him impartially; was he an ugly child, doomed to be rejected by other children as he grew? She had found she could not tell. He was Ephron, her little boy, and his differences were part of who he was, not points to be compared with others.

King and queen. It made her ridiculously sad. The dreams of Malta the girl might come true even as the longings of Phron’s mother were destroyed. 

He blurted out the words and then was horrified. He had never intended to speak of it to anyone. Having someone else know about it made it real.

“There is something about knowing that someone is taking pleasure in giving you incredible pain . . . with no remorse. It changes how you see yourself; it changes what you can believe of other people. It changes everything.”

Elderlings found a way, but I do not recall the details of it. They could touch it and wear it on their hands to work their magic. It gave intent to stone, and it spoke to wood and pottery and metal, bidding it be a certain shape or react in a given way. And those things did as the Elderlings bade them. They made doorways from it, entries of stone that they used to travel to their other cities. They created buildings that stayed warm in the winter. They made roads that always remembered they were roads and did not allow plants to break them. The most powerful of them sometimes used Silver to transform themselves at death, going into the statues they made to preserve a strange sort of life for themselves.

And ridiculous red Heeby flew wherever she would, now part of the formation, now trailing it, now flying to one side. Her slender scarlet rider sang as they flew, a song of anger and vengeance, but also one that praised the beauty of angry dragons in flight and painted a glorious victory for them. Ridiculous, and ridiculous that she and the others enjoyed it so. Thymara had complained more than once about how freely the dragons used their glamour to compel their keepers to tend them. Yet not once had she ever admitted the power that human flattery and praise in song could exert over dragons. She was not the only dragon who flew with her mind full of Rapskal’s glorious images of exotically beautiful dragons triumphing over every obstacle.

But Sedric, what have you done? All will know that you . . .” “That I am what I am,” he said calmly. “I do not apologize for that. Ever.”

“I knew Hest existed. I knew you’d been his. There were times when I felt like a thief. There was a day when Sedric took me on about it, saying that I was going to ruin your whole life by loving you. Made me feel selfish and low for wanting you.” “It seems a lifetime ago.” She smiled at him. “We used to worry about such peculiar things.”

“He made no cry for vengeance when I was the one who was dying,” she observed sourly to her Elderling. “Yet let them succeed in giving him a bellyache, and he will melt all their cities with venom.”

Malta was not pleased to let him go and not only because she feared for him. No, she had wanted to be the one to ride the queen into battle.

He and Carson and Malta had had several long and philosophical conversations about how these new Elderlings might form their society. This was his first unveiled look at it, and he tried to conceal his surprise and dismay. 

Distantly he heard Davvie shouting something about “you torn-up old umbrella!” 

“You’ve seen many things in the stone, haven’t you, Tellator?” He looked at her consideringly. “I lived many things,” he replied. “And other things I know from the stone ancestors I chose for myself. If one is to be a warrior, then one chooses the accounts of warriors, to read them from the stone and to use their experience again. And so I am Tellator, but I am also the ones that Tellator incorporated into himself.”

Brashen scratched his chin and then smiled at Althea. “Changing history seems to run in your family. First Wintrow and Malta, now Selden.” He took a sip of his tea. Paragon spoke up, his voice wry. “So fortunate for you that you married the sane, responsible female in the family.” Brashen choked.

We begin a new time. Perhaps we begin with new ways.

[prose-priest-potentate]

My precious girls deserve pretty clothes.

[prose-priest-potentate]

Duthed is the Temple's healer and enchanter who patched Imrath up over and over as a kid when he fell, and Daisy is just really protective of her big bro, okay? No one deserves him!

doesn't mean she won't totally ignore everything he says just to antagonize him tho

[prose-priest-potentate]

1.) Daisy does Imrath’s hair. He’s missed having help with it.

2.) All the temple kids have matching formal wear.

3.) Im is all but adopted into Ru and Daisy’s family, and has festival clothes that match them too. He and Ru are the best at sexy dances and giggle the whole time. Ru likes to fluster the crowd. 

4.) The quartet went driiiinkiiiing. Daisy is asleep and Nyerg keeps telling awful jokes and singing.

[prose-priest-potentate]

In order:  1.) Imrath’s parents! Fialra and Tirtheth - they’re really cute and deeply in love. Mama’s a smith, Papa’s a chef, and Imrath is their precious only baby.

2.) Every dragonborn does a couple years of military service, and our blind boy was no exception. He and his best friend, Nyerg, did their best with the circumstances.

3.) ~!!The Girls!!~ I love these two. Phlora (Daisy) is on the left, Rurzu (Ru) on the right. They’re so mean and hated Imrath so much at first, but now they’re thick as thieves. They cried when he left the city.

4 & 5.) Just some reactions to their bestie coming home after so much longer spent away than he planned. Phlora is so happy and so angry at him for being late that she’s all tears. Nyerg tackles him into the lake.

[prose-priest-potentate]

The first thing Imrath ever actually did with Blindsight was catch a candelabra that his friend knocked over. He only caught fire a little.

Worth it.

[prose-priest-potentate]

Imrath loves kids, and is used to acting as an older cousin.

In order:

- Imrath’s first ever little cousin just hatched and it overwhelms him.

- Imrath and Nyerg help watch her as she grows up.

- Wixen would LOVE her and she’d be delighted to have a new friend.

- Imrath and the Martikov kids. I like to think that he falls back into old habits when they visit the winery and tries to give their parents a break for a while.

- Jungle Gym Dragonborn.