Coldfire reread: Black Sun Rising - Chapter 1

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Thank you everybody for such a fantastic start on Monday!

Today it's chapter 1, where we meet a certain traveler called Damien, an adept called Ciani, and we hear rumours about a certain someone called the Hunter.


Plot summary

After dust, danger, and crossing mountain ranges where the paths go uphill both ways, Damien Kilcannon Vryce arrives in Jaggonath, on a mission from God. Or at least, on a mission from his superiors in Ganji.

After marvelling that people in Jaggonath are not nearly as afraid of the dark as everyone else he knows, his curiosity takes him to the local Fae Shoppe. In the shop, he encounters far more Worked objects than he ever thought possible, as well as a shop assistant who gets very little attention once the shop owner, certified adept and local Lore-Master enters the stage. Damien, despite his instant attraction to her, does the sensible thing and takes her out to dinner so he can get a competent introduction to this place that is so different from what he is used to. The matters first and foremost on his mind are Forest and rakh, and Ciani chooses to speak of the former.

She explains about the Forest's nature as a focal point of the dark fae, and about the creature called the Hunter, who dominates the Forest and uses it to snare his victims. She offers some insights on him - that he must be an adept, that she thinks the Hunter is a man, and that she believes him strong enough to rule the Forest rather than be ruled by it.

Damien takes Ciani home - road dust thwarts any progress beyond that - then returns to the destination of his journey: the Cathedral of Jaggonath. There he gets mistaken for someone unimportant, drops his name, and immediately is ushered in for a midnight chat with His Holiness.



Quotes

• The sensible thing to do would be to find an inn and drop off his things, get his mount under guard, and affix a few wards to his luggage . . . but when had he ever done the sensible thing, when curiosity was driving him?
  
  
• Be honest, Damien. You’ve always been attracted to things faewise, and here’s a true adept; would her looks have made much of a difference?
  
  
• Set against the dark evening sky, the building glowed as though fae-lit, and drew worshipers to it like moths to a flame. On its broad steps milled dozens - no, hundreds of worshipers, and their faith tamed the wild fae that flowed about their feet, sending it out again laden with calmness, serenity, and hope. Damien stared at it, awed and amazed, and thought, Here, in this wild place, the Dream is alive. A core of order, making civilization possible. If only it could have been managed on a broader scale . . .
  
  
• It was a focal point of the wildest fae, which in an earlier, less sophisticated age had been called evil. Now they knew better. Now they understood that the forces which swept across this planet’s surface were neither good nor evil in and of themselves, but simply responsive. To hopes and fears, wards and spells and all the patterns of a Working, dreams and nightmares and repressed desires. When tamed, it was useful. When responding to man’s darker urges, to the hungers and compulsions which he repressed in the light of day, it could be deadly. Witness the Landing, and the gruesome deaths of the first few colonists. Witness the monsters that Damien had fought in the Dividers, shards of man’s darkest imaginings given fresh life and solid bodies, laying traps for the unwary in the icy wilderness.
  Witness the Forest.
  
  
• “There’s a creature that lives within the Forest - maybe a demon, maybe a man - which has forced a dark sort of order upon the wild fae there. Legend has it that he sits at the heart of the whirlpool like a spider in its web, waiting for victims to become trapped in its power. His minions can leave the Forest and do, in a constant search for victims to feed to him.”
  “You’re talking about the Hunter.”
  
  
• In a whisper that was nine parts awe, and one part fear: "Father Vryce is a sorceror..."

Thoughts

• Damien's intro always makes me imagine the new sheriff riding along the deserted, dusty main street in a Western, just as all of Jaggonath has a touch of the Wild West. An obvious and intentional image, I'm sure, but it never fails to amuse me.
  
  
• Even with this first introduction of the fae, the rules are laid down. It responds to hopes, dreams, but also fears and nightmares - essentially, thoughts can become reality. It's quite a twisted concept of magic, and unlike how this is usually handled in fantasy. What do you think about it?
  
  
• To Damien, a Westerner, it is startling to see the differences between Jaggonath and the West. A Fae Shoppe with so many Worked items, people who stay out when they should be protecting themselves from the threats of the night, different customs... And yet he adapts almost immediately to the situation. Before, I've never noticed that his curiosity is one of the first things we learn about him. What about you?
  
  
• We see the first description of the Hunter in this chapter - the resident evil demon, or maybe a human adept who dominates the concentration of dark fae that is the Forest. To the people in the East, he is an omnipresent evil that cannot be eradicated, but very little concrete information is available. People seem to have arranged their lives around him, but they know nothing beyond speculation. Thoughts?
  
  
• What do you think about the differences between East and West? There is very little we learn about the West throughout the books (actually this chapter might be the most informative one), but the East seems very strange in some aspects to a Westerner like Damien. Here, sorcery is thriving, while it is not welcomed at all by the Church at the same time.

Like before, feel free to start your own comment threads, join others, and generally post to your heart's content. :-)

On Monday, we'll continue with chapters 2, 3 and 4 - three chapters at once, since they are very short ones. You can find the schedule here.

Comments

[trobadora]

Do not listen to the dark side, it may suck you in and then you'll do nasty things, like French-kiss your sister.

Best summary ever. :D

I love the way they all have interests - and the variety of it. Sometimes it takes an unhealthy turn, as with Zen. Whereas with Gerald, there were times when it was almost a redeeming trait - the one human interest, that wasn't twisted into a demonic hunger.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

You could say that Gerald's need for knowledge took a really, really unhealthy turn in the prologue...

I agree abot the redeeming trait. It's what connects him to his human self - he's wanted to learn and to know more so badly. Someone who really learned the lesson that knowledge is power.

[trobadora]

Oh yes, good point about the prologue. I love how nuanced it is - how the very same thing can be bad in one place and good in another. Friedman is really good with this stuff.

It occurs to me that the thirst for knowledge is a very appropriate theme for a story set in this particular world, which began with the loss of knowledge, their Terran heritage, in Casca's sacrifice.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Knowledge and curiosity seems to be quite a central theme, doesn't it? We get it with Gerald, who's considering it one of the most important things in life. Damien, who gets introduced already as driven by curiosity. Ciani, too. Zen, with a slightly more obsessed view. Narilka, to some extent. And as you say, the underlying theme of lost knowledge and the struggle to either regain it or replace it with something of equal value.

And when you think about it, the final enemy got beaten because Gerald and Damien sat down and figured it out - and it wasn't a magic weapon, it was, essentially, knowing about semantics.

[trobadora]

Yes, Narilka, who was shut away from the night but learns to open her eyes and see the beauty in the darkness ... that scene is so powerful, which I guess is why I was so disappointed with where she ended up. *g*

I love that their solution is never a magic weapon - when they try that, as with Gerald's Worked knife in WTNF, it fails. And yes, they defeat Calesta because Gerald figured out antonyms. How cool is that? *g*

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

You know who never cares at all about knowledge or learning? Andrys. That, I think, is why he irritates me so much. You've got all these smart, involved people around the place, and the one guy who doesn't want to engage with events further than he absolutely has to for the sake of his pretty girlfriend ("Don't talk to the Dark Side," indeed!) ends up playing "hero."

Which I think is purposeful, given the rest of the story, and I'm glad because otherwise it'd bother me endlessly.

[trobadora]

You know who never cares at all about knowledge or learning? Andrys. That, I think, is why he irritates me so much.

Ha. Yes. That is so very true.

Which I think is purposeful, given the rest of the story, and I'm glad because otherwise it'd bother me endlessly.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean - would you mind elaborating a bit?

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

That actually was more an example of my pet peeves slipping out. :) I have a problem with characters like him when the author shows no self-awareness that certain qualities could be less than desirable.

Or to put it another way, hypocrisy bugs the hell out of me (enough that I hate even making that statement because I'm sure we're all hypocrites occasionally), and I'm glad that Andrys' attitude seems to be something we're not just supposed to accept as fine.

[trobadora]

Ah, thanks, that makes complete sense to me. If I thought even for a moment that we were supposed to see Andrys's lack of curiousity, or indeed Andrys in general, as admirable - hell no. I'd be incredibly pissed off.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

He seems like a fundamentally decent person--doing this because people tell him it's the right thing, and not really wanting to hurt anybody. But he's so...mundane, in a crowd of exceptional people.

[trobadora]

I will admit it: I just plain don't like him. But so long as he's not held up as the epitome of human heroism or something, I can deal. ;-)

You're right, it's not that he's bad or anything - he just can't measure up to any of the other people in the books.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not like he's thrilled to play "hero" himself. Or like anyone who actually know him a little think he's a hero.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Andrys, to me, is someone who learned more than he ever wanted when he was faced with the family history in action. After that, he sat down with his hands over his eyes and ears. It would even be excusable if he hadn't been averse to learning new things (beyond new drugs) even before getting somewhat traumatized.

I've always considered fear the central theme of the trilogy, but by now... knowledge, or curiosity, qualify just as much.

[trobadora]

I've always considered fear the central theme of the trilogy, but by now... knowledge, or curiosity, qualify just as much.

Yeah, I can't believe I missed that before either, but it's so central!

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

From a religious studies standpoint, it's terribly interesting, too: the variations on knowledge leading to corruption and temptation, and to redemption and spiritual growth.

Damien manages both, somehow. :D

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Damien is a man of many talents. ;-)

We'll have to keep an eye out for temptation. Corruption is there, and I can think of a few instances of temptation, but we've already dug up all this curiosity, so who knows what else is hidden.

[trobadora]

Another main theme that really stood out for me today when I read through the majority of the book out of sheer boredom (and inability to concentrate on anything more productive) was hunger. All kinds of hunger, good and bad and neither, leading to all kinds of things. So fascinating.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Hunger is an interesting thing. Often used as a synonym for desire, but it's...more impersonal, somehow. You can't help hunger, after all. Gives it kind of a life of its own.

[trobadora]

Yes - and generally we don't think it's a good idea to starve ourselves ;-), so the connotations are quite different.

The word "hunger" must appear in that book dozens of times; it's quite fascinating. No idea why I never really noticed that before!

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Well, Damien often worries over whether he's being tempted by the promise of Gerald's power for his quest.

Oh! And once, he notices he's starting to go grey and admits to himself the only reason he's not being vain about it is because it's the sort of thing Gerald would do. He didn't quite muse over the awesomeness of unaging immortality, but the implication may've been ever-so-faintly there?

I am getting so far ahead of myself...