Coldfire Re-read: When True Night Falls - chapters 2 and 3

[trobadora]

Wherein preparations are made, explanations are given, and there is much foreshadowing.

Plot summary

Chapter 2
The ship reaches the southern continent, and our heroes discover cannons on the the coast: not quite as friendly as they'd like! In preparation for their encounter with the locals, Tarrant removes Hesseth's facial fur and changes her appearance so that she can pass as human. Then he leaves for the shore, but not before giving a few explanations to Damien and ordering him to expose his quarters to sunlight.

Chapter 3
Church hunters are bringing a young girl out into the night as bait for the faeborn. When the demons attack, she prays for death - and death comes: An unlikely saviour as always, Tarrant arrives, kills the hunters and then feeds on the girl until she, too, dies.

Quotes

• How terrifying that must have been for the first explorers, Damien thought. They'd have thought that because they disdained sorcery, their tools would function even here. Not realizing that even unconscious thought affects the earth-fae . . . and therefore no tool that man makes on land can be wholly free of its taint. Was that why none of those ships were ever heard from again? Had they lost their way in mid-ocean, when their instruments failed them?


• "Perhaps. But who can say what form that evil has taken, here in its native land? I would be wary of anything - even civilization - until we discover its foundation."


• "I am what I am," he interrupted sharply. "You knew my nature when you invited me to join you. You knew than I would kill, and kill often. That I require killing in order to sustain my own life. You knew that, and still you chose to invite me. Don't play at hypocrisy now," he warned, shaking his head. "It doesn't suit you."


• There were people there, crew and passengers both, and they parted like a magicked sea at his approach. Some gazed at him in awe as he passed; others superstitiously averted their eyes, as they might do for a passing demon. He ignored them all. They had feared him once, as men will always fear the demonic, and some had even muttered that the ship would be better off if they exposed him to the sun and then scattered his dust upon the waves. But his performance during the storm had changed all that. Four dozen men and women who might once have turned against the Hunter now regarded him with a reverence just short of worship, and any who found that mode distasteful had learned to keep their silence.
  If this were a pagan mob, they'd have turned him into a god by now, Damien thought darkly. He wondered if the Hunter's nature would allow him to accept that. Or did enough of the Church's philosophy still cling to his soul that even power, in such a form, would be abhorrent? Thank God we'll never find out.
  He looked at the Hunter's retreating form - at the worshipful faces that surrounded him - and corrected himself grimly.
  Pray God we never have to.


• The result was perfectly balanced, breathtakingly beautiful. And awesome, in that its perfection had been sculpted in blood and pain. Even in destruction the Hunter was aesthetic. It was easy to forget that side of him, Damien thought. Just like it was easy to forget that beneath that brutal exterior lived the creative genius who had breathed life into his faith. God of Earth, if only that facet of him could be brought back to life . . .


• He drew in a deep breath, slowly. Trying to calm himself. "If the Forest is no longer my refuge, then no place will ever be. I could hide myself away with my books and my conjurings for a month, a year, a century . . . but the threat would always be there. Will always be there, until I deal with it." The pale eyes fixed on Damien. "You understand?"


• "You've always distrusted me . . . which is appropriate, I assure you. But the day may come when that will be a dangerous luxury. Our relationship has been strained even here, on this ship, and I know you've had your doubts about the wisdom of our alliance. That'll only get worse as time goes on. Our enemy seems adept at reading our fears and turning them against us - perhaps even feeding on them - and so I thought it best if you understood why I was here. How much is at stake for me in this venture. I thought that knowledge would be worth more than anything I could say about trustworthiness, or loyalty."


• And she prayed, with a passion born of utter terror. Knowing even as she did so that the God of her faith would never help her. The Hunt was His device - His plan, His ritual - and why would He set aside His plan for her, why would He break His own rules for the comfort of one tiny soul? But to pray when one was frightened was a reflexive response, and so she muttered the ritual words of supplication even while her eyes darted from shadow to shadow, searching for movement.

Thoughts

• There really is a lot of foreshadowing for the ending here, isn't there? The bit about trust, of course, but most of all Damien's speculations about about Tarrant and becoming a god. That's one reason I like WTNF so much: I think of all the three books, this is the one that holds together best as a whole.


• Is this new information on the fae? We knew before that on land, normal technology doesn't work properly because human feelings get in the way; but even out on sea, not only those instruments depending on the fae (such as farseers) seem to fail. From what Damien says, the fae is inextricably bound into anything manufactured on land, so even if its function doesn't depend on it, out on the sea it will fail. Did we know that before?


• And continuing this train of thought: Only Tarrant's instruments continue to work, no doubt because they're deliberately and consciously made without any sort of fae involvement – Tarrant as an adept would know, and he has that lovely fae-less circle to test things, too. Now this makes me wonder if a ship, far out at sea, wouldn't be the perfect place for Tarrant to experiment. Do you think he's considered that before, or was it simply too much of a risk for him to contemplate?


• I love Tarrant stating that hypocrisy doesn't suit Damien. It's true; Damien is one of the least hypocritical characters I know.


• We get our first look into the society on the eastern continent here, and it's very creepy. So even before Damien meets anyone, we're shown very clearly that there's something rotten in the state of Mercia. Do you think that takes the suspense out of what happens later?


• One of the few times we do see Tarrant feed and kill – and even here, every effort is made to make sure we don't condemn him too much. The hunters are clearly not nice people, and the girl welcomes death: everything is qualified, mitigated, designed to soften the fact that he's a cold-blooded killer.
  

On Thursday, we'll be continuing with chapter 4. Stay tuned!

Comments

No spoilers on this thread for after pg 357 please

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

re your 5th thought - Knowing the rot beneath Mercia heightened the tension for me - Damien's faith was so intense I could almost taste it in the church after the fireworks but you read it with a sense of horror knowing how bad his pain is going to be when he finds out.

Here are a few of my thoughts as I was reading:

Re the Sacrifice:

I adored this chapter which is a relief because I was beginning to fear that I would only be reading this book for the Damien/Hunter. This chapter opened my eyes though because I realized I'd been underestimating the ethical issues. I almost want to go back and reread BSR before I go on with a closer eye to the theology and morality. Watching Damien and Gerald change, morally, is going to be more interesting and nuanced than a simple redemption tale. I think.

That this perfect, advanced land survives on a deep dark secret of sacrifice is delicious. Friedman is starting in on softening Hunter's killing by making it a mercy killing in this case. On the surface it's not because Hunter supposedly doesn't care and is just there to feed on this terrified innocent. The reader knows that it's a mercy killing though and so not only doesn't despise Hunter for it but cheers him on because he gives the girl the release she wants and also kills her tormentors, the men. It's a cheat but it's also not a cheat because mercy killing is a real issue, a real moral ambiguity - the kind that Damien's faith doesn't take into account - yet.

So, the faith exists in this land but it's become something more terrible than the things it supposedly fights. The demons feed to survive but these people sacrifice their young girls so they can survive. There is something worse than The Hunter.

Re Rasya:

I love the Rasya morning sex thing. I'm here for the slash but I thought it hot. Damien's whole not understanding women but "the hell I'm not" interested - great stuff. Even better is later (a chapter or two?) when Damien observes that he and Rasya are so good together because they both are dedicated to greater things - meaning they're both content to limit the relationship. The beauty is that Damien's relationship with Gerald is not limited and has impinged on his greater thing and no doubt will more so. Ha. My slash goggles, seeing true slash love even within a het relationship.

Re: No spoilers on this thread for after pg 357 please

[trobadora]

Knowing the rot beneath Mercia heightened the tension for me - Damien's faith was so intense I could almost taste it in the church after the fireworks but you read it with a sense of horror knowing how bad his pain is going to be when he finds out.

Yes, you're right - it increases one kind of tension even as it defuses another.

This chapter opened my eyes though because I realized I'd been underestimating the ethical issues.

Yeah, that's one of the central themes of the trilogy, and it's definitely worth paying attention to. I'm still utterly fascinated by the way Damien and Gerald change each other - someone once said it's good and evil corrupting each other, and that's a lovely way to put it. :-)

It's a cheat but it's also not a cheat because mercy killing is a real issue, a real moral ambiguity - the kind that Damien's faith doesn't take into account - yet.

It's complicated - because is it a mercy killing if the killer isn't doing it out of mercy? It's still a mercy to the killed. It's something Damien has contemplated before, with regard to Tarrant's healing - Tarrant can't heal in the literal sense, of course, the Workings of life aren't accessible to him. But does it matter if the results are the same? So many questions. :-)

The beauty is that Damien's relationship with Gerald is not limited and has impinged on his greater thing and no doubt will more so. Ha. My slash goggles, seeing true slash love even within a het relationship.

Hee! I suspect you're not alone with this. :D But yes, I agree absolutely:there are only two things without limits in Damien's life, his faith - and Gerald.

Re: No spoilers on this thread for after pg 357 please

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

It's complicated - because is it a mercy killing if the killer isn't doing it out of mercy? It's still a mercy to the killed. It's something Damien has contemplated before, with regard to Tarrant's healing - Tarrant can't heal in the literal sense, of course, the Workings of life aren't accessible to him. But does it matter if the results are the same?

Well, one thing it does is give the reader a hint of a path that Gerald can take in which he only kills people who should be killed. It's a choice Gerald can make - a relatively moral choice. It's an old vampire book cheat. Then the issue becomes is Gerald willing to make that choice because so far he's preferred to just give himself over to evil completely - I think it's a type of penance in which he does not allow himself any hope, any redemption at all because he doesn't deserve it. I don't know if the author is going to go that way. I've read as far as where the human bad guy offers Gerald a path to becoming a god and so true immortality. My guess is that Gerald will take it and then at the *very* end redeem himself somehow after a whole lot of betrayal angst.

But to answer your question - I think the killer's intent does matter in the mercy killing as far as their redemption goes - this chapter just eases up on the reader a bit and gives a hint as to what Gerald *could* be doing. I'm not sure Gerald would allow himself that sort of cheat. I know he gives it to Damien as a gift sometimes, telling him he's only going to kill bad guys or pointing out when he doesn't kill good guys, but I don't think Gerald would distinguish between good killing and bad killing as a way to be less evil. I suspect he's very hard on himself - tries to ease Damien's soul a bit but doesn't ease his own.

Re: No spoilers on this thread for after pg 357 please

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Re: mercy killing
It's also one of the times when Gerald walks a very thin line, what with mercy and compassion being anathema to him. I've wondered about his motivations for killing the girl - is she just the "loudest" prey available?

The demons feed to survive but these people sacrifice their young girls so they can survive. There is something worse than The Hunter.

*nod* Even though he sacrificed his children, too, to survive. But he's limiting himself with his own code of honour, which the society here doesn't seem to do. In a way, it's what the Hunter could have been.

My slash goggles, seeing true slash love even within a het relationship.

*g* Don't forget Gerald ensuring that Rasya's wards work again so she'll let Damien sleep with her. So much slash by proxy!

Re: No spoilers on this thread for after pg 357 please

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

*g* Don't forget Gerald ensuring that Rasya's wards work again so she'll let Damien sleep with her. So much slash by proxy!

ah now, I'd spun that off into a thing where Gerald is all jealous and Rasya kinda guesses it so she knows he won't renew her wards and might have even worked them to run down a little faster somehow. That's why she doesn't ask him to renew them sooner (or maybe she did and he ignored her). But now she has him in debt to her debt so he does as she asks as a matter of honor - a trade. Also, he won't be on board anymore so he doesn't have to sense every time they do the deed. : D

Re: No spoilers on this thread for after pg 357 please

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

*nod* Even though he sacrificed his children, too, to survive. But he's limiting himself with his own code of honour, which the society here doesn't seem to do. In a way, it's what the Hunter could have been.

Mm, this is one of those books/tv shows/movies where I'm convinced the author doesn't have children. There is *no* redemption or honor after murdering your children. I can even go with the vivisecting the wife thing - but not the own-children-murder. Putting that aside though I'm not sure how well Gerald's character is hanging together for me where he wants to remain human by keeping a code of honor - (which is what, his word? That seems more like a mark of vanity to me than real honor) but doesn't restrain himself in his killing at all - or not until he meets Damien. I would think he would go the only-kill-evil-people route if he was trying hold together some humanity. Maybe he was just confused and punishing himself all those centuries.

Re: No spoilers on this thread for after pg 357 please

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

It's also one of the times when Gerald walks a very thin line, what with mercy and compassion being anathema to him. I've wondered about his motivations for killing the girl - is she just the "loudest" prey available?

She must have seemed very tasty - exactly his type - a a terrified young woman/girl. Probably less tasty when it turned out she was happy to die. I think mercy and compassion are only anathema to him when it endangers him though. I don't think he has a problem with it otherwise does he?

Re: No spoilers on this thread for after pg 357 please

[9thcircleofhell.livejournal.com]

*g* Don't forget Gerald ensuring that Rasya's wards work again so she'll let Damien sleep with her. So much slash by proxy!

I can only imagine the look on Gerald's face when she asked him that! *My* slash goggles didn't spin that as jealously though - 'cause one has to feel some level of threat/doubt to get jealous. Rather, I saw him as allowing Damien one last bit of fun, secure in the knowledge of who totally ownz him.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

This chapter always makes me a) hum the Vangelis theme to 1492 and b) pray that Damien doesn't look anything like Gerard Depardieu did even then.

That's one reason I like WTNF so much: I think of all the three books, this is the one that holds together best as a whole.

It's quite self-contained, isn't it? BSR lacks a real ending, and CoS is an ending. But WTNF is nice and compact and tells a full story.

We knew before that on land, normal technology doesn't work properly because human feelings get in the way; but even out on sea, not only those instruments depending on the fae (such as farseers) seem to fail.

I was quite confused by this because it doesn't seem to fit with what we know. If there is no accessible fae here (save Gerald's little sword-bound reservoir), then how can the machinery still be affected? Wards are failing, so shouldn't unconscious fae manipulation be gone too?

Now this makes me wonder if a ship, far out at sea, wouldn't be the perfect place for Tarrant to experiment. Do you think he's considered that before, or was it simply too much of a risk for him to contemplate?

Too risky by far. It's taken a lot to push him into getting on this ship, and I can't imagine he'd have taken that kind of risk before Damien came along. He's too cautious for it, and there obviously were other possibilities, like his fae-free circle.

Do you think that takes the suspense out of what happens later?

I don't think so; it's not clear yet that it's the whole society and not just a small part. There's obviously something deeply wrong here, but I can't remember that I realized the scale of it at this point.

The hunters are clearly not nice people, and the girl welcomes death: everything is qualified, mitigated, designed to soften the fact that he's a cold-blooded killer.

It's still a shocking choice of victim. Narilka in BSR is almost a stereotype as the young, frail pretty woman. But this is a child here, which packs quite a punch (and doesn't leave him entirely unaffected either, though not about the killing itself).

[trobadora]

pray that Damien doesn't look anything like Gerard Depardieu did even then

*gigglesnort*

if there is no accessible fae here (save Gerald's little sword-bound reservoir), then how can the machinery still be affected?

I didn't think that was the way it worked either. It might make sense - if the fae is inextricably bound into anything made on land, and out on sea, it would fade with time because the energy wasn't being renewed ... But still, that doesn't explain why, say, the ship itself is still in fine condition. *scratches head*

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

But still, that doesn't explain why, say, the ship itself is still in fine condition. *scratches head*

I'm tempted to call it a slight error, along with the missing spaceship. I wish I had BSR at hand to check the bit where Gerald explains to Damien why he'll never, ever, under any circumstances, go east with him because of what the ocean means for his fae-supported existence.

[9thcircleofhell.livejournal.com]

Maybe the idea is not so much that the inanimate tool is affected by the fae and, therefore, should behave normally when there is no fae, but rather that the more complicated machinery/tools are in a sense powered by the fae or the fae influences an important part of how they work. So they end up being like a machine that runs out of gas or a cell phone when you can't get a signal. An example would be the farseers - they aren't really telescopes but work in some manner because of the fae (if I remember Damien's descriptions from BSR correctly), not because they are made with lenses compressed and curved in a specific way. So simple tools could still work, like the ship or the crude tools that Rasya prefers when she's riled, but not more complex things. Except for Tarrant's which are Earth-like, non-fae influenced machines.

[eveningfire.livejournal.com]

Now that the voyage finally is over, I'm giving Damien 1 rescue point for feeding GT all that time. Although, in all fairness, he should get at least 6 (one for each month, don't you think?). Anyway, the rescue tally is 3-5 in Gerald's favor.

To recap:

Damien rescues Gerald:
1. feeds him after they cross the Canopy
2. gets him out of the fire
3. feeds him on the ship

Gerald rescues Damien:
1. drags him out of the water right before the rahk catch them
2. heals him in the rahk camp
3. pulls him out of the earth when the tunnels collapse
4. brings down the tunnel to save everyone from the Dark Ones
5. saves everybody on the ship by calming the storm

[trobadora]

Woohoo! :D

It's so great that you're keeping track of this.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Somehow I sense Gerald coming out as the final winner in this little competition, unless Damien starts catching up fast.

Though, Damien should probably get a point for dragging Gerald to safety after Gerald saves them in the storm.

[eveningfire.livejournal.com]

Though, Damien should probably get a point for dragging Gerald to safety after Gerald saves them in the storm.

That's true, I forgot about that! I'll add it to my list. New score: 4-5. It's getting close!

[9thcircleofhell.livejournal.com]

Damien also feeds Gerald *after* getting him out of the fire even though he's already lost a lot of blood. Not sure if that's subsumed into the fire rescue - maybe half a point?

[eveningfire.livejournal.com]

You're right! Although as you say, it could also be viewed as part of the fire rescue. Hmmm... I don't know if we want to go into half-points; it could make it a bit cumbersome. What shall I do?

[silver-ariane.livejournal.com]

There really is a lot of foreshadowing for the ending here, isn't there?

Yes, and I like it. I agree that this completeness is what makes WTNF work so well, and it's definitely my favorite book of the three. Also, I'm glad you mention Damien's thinking about Tarrant and becoming a god. I hadn't noticed until now just how heavily the monotheistic tradition was specifically seeded in the prologue, and now all sorts of references to it are showing up, even outside the Church. Do I think it's a coincidence that Tarrant used the turn of phrase "I am what I am" twice in two pages? Not at all. It'll be interesting to pay attention to the religion providing continuity throughout the book.

Do you think that takes the suspense out of what happens later?

I don't think so, because in the next few chapters Damien's POV is persuasive and I got just as caught up in how great Mercia is as he did. By Rozca's conversion, Damien's faith had bled through so much that I ignored this chapter entirely. This time through, I liked what it did for Tarrant -- unlikely savior really is the best description for him, here and in general, isn't it?

The result was perfectly balanced, breathtakingly beautiful...

If there's anyone who hadn't fallen for Tarrant and his church before yet (unlikely, I know), I dare them to hold out against all the description in these chapters.

[trobadora]

Do I think it's a coincidence that Tarrant used the turn of phrase "I am what I am" twice in two pages?

Oh! I feel quite dumb now, because that hadn't even fully registered with me. *slaps forehead* Definitely not a coincidence, no, I agree.

I dare them to hold out against all the description in these chapters.

Hee! I admit it, I don't understand at all how anyone could not fall for Tarrant. :D

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Do I think it's a coincidence that Tarrant used the turn of phrase "I am what I am" twice in two pages?

Oh man, I had not caught that. Brilliant!

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

This is my favorite of the three books as well. In some way that I can't articulate, it seems to tell a complete story for me in a way the others don't. It's about Tarrant and Damien and their respective psyches and the ways that they change and grow and even devolve, just like the first and third book. But this volume also tracks the growth and evolution of a civilization; we start in the distant past and then everything that happens in the book is the consequence of that distant past. Everything in the other two books is the consequence as well, but they're not framed in the same way. I think this book is about the psychology of *groups* and of culture in a way that the other two aren't. And I feel like Jenseny is a more clearly developed character than say Ciani and as a result, I feel closer to her as a reader. We get inside her head to a degree that we don't with Ciani. Maybe the only other secondary character that reveals as much to us is Senzei.

[trobadora]

We get inside her head to a degree that we don't with Ciani.

Or Hesseth.

I adore Hesseth, but I really wish we'd seen more of how she thinks.

re-read

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

Oh well...
1) Yes, here is a lot of foreshadowing which I like very much. And I didn't say that I'm still thinking WNTF boring! Furthermore, I like when Damien's finding excuses for feeling the way he does by thinking that part about the man behind the Hunter and how to sparkle that into existence again. Lots of self-delusion here... and I don't think only on Damien's part. Just who brought the subject of trust up to discussion? (hehe) Because if you don't feel a thing for another then why that one's trust is so important to you?
2) Yes again, that's something new about the fae we got here. I think, the fae is energy by definition and being such it's required for things made with the involvement of it to function. On the other side, we know the fae answers to men's fears and expectations so if you (here you need a LOT of people) believe the ship isn't to sink it won't like buildings don't crumble in a quake if you believe they can't (see BSR). What makes the difference here is, I think the size of the object. The larger it is the more energy you need to support it or to destroy.
3) I think Gerald considered that but dropped the idea due to the risk. The Hunter at the beginning of the books wouldn't take any chances.
4) Agree with that completely!
5) I don't think so. If everything it increases it.
6) Oh yeah. But we're supposed to like him, aren't we? He's fulfilling her wish to die. Would he have fulfilled it if her wish were to live? Not sure here, most probably not, he's still what he is as he's pointed out to Damien. But I'm not sure about that either. Gerald here is not the Gerald from book one. So is he still who he is? Besides, why to point it out twice if not to reassure himself?

Re: re-read

[trobadora]

Because if you don't feel a thing for another then why that one's trust is so important to you?

Well, because they have a common enemy and need to be able to depend on each other?

Not that I believe that's all there is to it, of course. *g*

Would he have fulfilled it if her wish were to live?

No - that much I'm absolutely sure of. After all, mercy for the sake of mercy would break his compact with the Unnamed.