Coldfire re-read: When True Night Falls - chapters 14 and 15

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Today we start on book 2, Valley of Mists, and we begin with Damien and Gerald sharing a few revelations, and another Protector getting eaten. As always, enjoy yourselves!



Plot Summary

Chapter 14
Damien and Hesseth embark on the first few miles of their upcoming adventure, fortified with horses, blankets and lots of cookies. Tarrant catches up with them in what in a movie version would be a splendid display of special effects, and reveals that he's been wreaking havoc on the Matria's secret postal system by intercepting her messenger birds. Of course the messages are not reassuring in any way, and even Damien has to concede that things might be even worse than he thought. To make matters even more terrible, he has a revealing and revelatory nightmare involving the Matria, from which he wakes with the discovery that she must be rakh. Tarrant eventually agrees that Damien might be right (and that for once Damien has figured something out before him), and shares his own discoveries about what this continent does to adepts. Which, in turn, upsets him enough that Damien is downright worried.

Chapter 15
With much foreshadowing of doom, Protector Iseldas visits his friend and colleague Protector Kierstaad, who, in a further cloud of dark foreshadowing, seems strangely off kilter. He goes on ignoring the nagging sense of doom, and as a result, gets eaten by the evil forces who are taking over the country one Protector-sized snack at a time.




Quotes

• Coldfire blossomed in the stream bed. It was the first time Damien had seen the Hunter transform in water, and it was well worth the vision; ice speared out from the point of contact with a suddenness that was audible, crackling and splitting as it expanded against the sides of the narrow gully. Two of the horses, tethered by the bank, whinnied unhappily and pulled at their reins; Tarrant's merely snorted as if to say, What took you so long? Blue flames - intense but unilluminating - seared the stream bed with a cold so intense that Damien's breath fogged in the cool spring air, and frost rimmed the scraggly plants closest to the stream.
  When the coldfire died, it left Tarrant on hard ice, and he quickly stepped to the shore. Frost shivered from his boots as he climbed to where the two had made camp, and ice crystals glimmered in his soft brown hair. It might be early spring in the eastern lands, but the Hunter traveled within his own private winter.



• He nodded approvingly. "It was well planned, Vryce. Considering how quickly you threw it all together, it does you credit."
  "Thanks," he muttered. He felt strangely uncomfortable receiving praise from the Hunter.



• It was a good thing he was too tired to really think about their arrangement, Damien reflected as he helped Hesseth pack up their gear. Otherwise it might really scare him how comfortable he was with the thought of placing his safety in Tarrant's hands.
  Hell, he thought. You can get used to anything.



• "You said they hunted human children," Damien said softly. "Considering how the rakh hate our species, wouldn't that make sense?"
  "I said they used human children to hunt the faeborn."
  "Is that so very different? As far as the children are concerned?"



• "You can't hide something like that," he said angrily. "Not in the first few years. Not when a child responds to things that no one else can see or hear. An adept lives in a world five times as complex as that of his parents, and must struggle to sort it out. That can't be hidden. Trust me. People have tried. Back in my day, when they feared it as a sign of possession, when it meant that a child might be put to the torch . . . it can't be hidden, Reverend Vryce. Not ever." He shook his head; his expression was grim. "There's no living adept in this region at all. I know. I used my power to search the currents, to find some sign - any sign - but there's nothing. Nothing! Man's greatest adaptation to this world - his only adaptation - and these people have wiped it out, child by child."



• "You realize their sancitity is all an illusion, don't you? The ultimate in self-deception. They've learned to control the fae, all right, but it's been at the cost of their own souls." His eyes were focused on a distant point; perhaps in the past. Perhaps in his own soul. "Exactly what I feared would happen," he whispered. "Exactly what I warned them about." He shut his eyes. "Why wouldn't they listen? Why don't they ever listen?"



• Betrayed. They were all betrayed. The land had already been invaded, by creatures that hid behind human faces. No boats had to land. Not now. No armies would ever be seen. Nothing would be noticed . . . until it was too late.

Thoughts

• I love the visual of Tarrant shapeshifting on the frozen river. He's always the one to get the flashy descriptions, and this is one of those moments when the magic-like nature of the fae really comes across for me.



• A small question from someone not familiar with the British/American cookie landscape: is there something hidden behind Honey Ginger Nugrams, like with other occasional food items?



• What do you think of Tarrant's attitude towards Damien here? He gives praise, he makes sure that Damien (and Hesseth as something of an afterthought) gets proper rest, and even the usual sarcasm and snark is toned down considerably.



• Damien waking up aroused from his dream, and Gerald offering his assistance? My mind takes a nosedive into the gutter at this point every time I re-read.


• Finally we get the revelation of just what is going on with the Matrias. Looking back, it fits all the details we've been given and all the litlte oddities, down to Hesseth in disguise receiving such respect from Toshida and his soldiers at their first meeting. What did you think when it was revealed that the Matrias are rakh? Did you see it coming?



• There's a lot of background on adepts here, from a more general perspective than when Ciani described her situation. Those pages hold a lot of food for thought for me, so I'll just throw out a few of the questions that occur to me here. Like, we already know that Gerald was one of the first adepts, and here he makes it sound as though they were still routinely burned - so how did he get away? It also explains a lot about his constant need for control if an adept's perception is as complex as he says. For me it also helps putting the adept-Church conflict into easy words with this - adepts cannot help but Work, and the Church condemns Working, so it must condemn adepts. And of course, Gerald finally cracks enough to let Damien have a glimpse of his human side - what's your take on that? I always found it interesting that it's the threat and violence against adepts in general, and not even him personally, that made him react so strongly.



• The chapter on the Protectors sets up a number of future plot points, so I'll not go into them here (but feel free to if you want to!). One thing I thought intriguing is how strongly the Mercian aversion to the darkness is driven home here. On Damien's continent people are careful about darkness and nighttime, but it never seemed to be nearly as strong as it is here. It's another extreme this civilisation shows.

On Monday the chapter list is fairly long - 16-19, in fact - but they're four fairly short chapters so there's no more to read than usually. And they're chapters well worth the time!

Comments

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

What do you think of Tarrant's attitude towards Damien here?

After everything that they've found out, it makes sense - Gerald is shaken himself by the discovery about the adepts and he knows how Damien's going to reacte to the news about the state of the continent. Keeping everyone together, sane and rested in a land that wants to murder them all seems like a top notch option.

The revelation about the Matrias caught me completely by surprise. I did wonder about Hesseth and the respect there, but came nowhere close to putting two and two together.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Keeping everyone together, sane and rested in a land that wants to murder them all seems like a top notch option.

Agreed - he just strikes me as unexpectedly... almost nice. He's been a lot more challenging and confrontational in similar situations in BSR; those months on the ship have definitely mellowed him where Damien is concerned.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

A lot of it probably comes down to knowing what makes Damien tick and knowing just how much the situation in the city had emotionally affected him. He's probably trying to let him down gently with the "btw, this continent is EVOL!"

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

*nod* Though the motive is suspect. Unless he's doing it to keep the angry flailing from Damien's side down to a minimum.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Motive-wise, his childhood memories are probably catching up with him and he's inwardly flailing himself.

[linaerys.livejournal.com]

Reading what you wrote here, I wonder *why* Tarrant chose to transform in the water, and that's where my mind went to the slash place. Is he showing off something pretty for Damien? :D

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't be the first time he shows off, and I'm sure he knows exactly how to make the most of it. Must impress that stubborn priest occasionally and remind him who's prettiest. :-D

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

Honey Ginger Nugrams are probably a reference to Honey Graham Crackers. They're a sweet, dry cracker - young kids in particular eat a lot of them. Damien eating graham crackers is a cute image. : ) Also, people take them camping - to make s'mores over a campfire (graham cracker, chocolate and roasted marchmallow sandwich).

Ok, the bit where Damien wakes up from his dream and Gerald offers to assist him - even without my mind falling in the gutter, I didn't understand what Gerald was offering. I think Damien had sat up by that point. There was nothing in particular Damien needed (other than that he was upset). I stopped and reread that a couple of time trying to get it.

This part of the book, up through right before the Terata, is my favorite part of the trilogy I think. It's like a Damien-Gerald honeymoon in which they forget that they are fundamentally opposed. I think it begins because Gerald was shaken by what he found on in this new land. Damien was bitterly disappointed and we're all sympathetic to him but Gerald has at least as much invested in the Church as Damien. I think he was pretty shaken up, needing the support of his companions (though of course he wouldn't think of it that way), and concerned that Damien might crack under the pressure to his faith. On this he and Damien understand each other and can be companions for each other. So, the supportive kindness begins - they empathize. Then a series of events has it building until Gerald starts to let himself believe that there is someone on this planet who really does have his back - for first the first time in 900 years.

These books are still eating my brain. Thank goodness for this reread and you guys to talk to. : )

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

I knew there had to be real crackers like those somewhere!

Ok, the bit where Damien wakes up from his dream and Gerald offers to assist him - even without my mind falling in the gutter, I didn't understand what Gerald was offering.

Mind firmly out of the gutter, I'm leaning towards something like a glass of water. Which would not be remarkable in any way if this weren't Gerald we're talking about. Assistance, just because Damien had a nightmare? It feels highly atypical.

The growing empathy and trust is a large part of why I like WTNF best out of the trilogy parts. It's such a major chunk of character development and interaction for those two, and it feels. And when I look at it closely, it starts in this chapter with Gerald's little sparks of consideration, and him letting Damien see his shock over what is happening to the adepts. Like shadowystar says, it's the point where they go from trusting not because of external issues (Gerald's code of honour and Damien's need of his support) to trusting because they know each other enough to do it.

[aubrem.livejournal.com]

One line I like is when Gerald tosses Damien and Hesseth the two pigeons (or whatever) and says he brought them dinner. He didn't really bring them dinner but the humor is charming and also just the awareness that there is a domesticity to the three of them travelling and relying on each other. Also, the image of him being "the hunter" on behalf of Damien is tantalizing.

I really love this part of the trilogy.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

*nod* The birds, and Gerald's offer to stand watch for them, along with Damien's easy acceptance of it. Compared with what's come before and what is awaiting them once they reach the Terata, this is the most relaxed bit of traveling they ever manage.

[ladyphoenix9]

What did you think when it was revealed that the Matrias are rakh? Did you see it coming?

Since I didn't have the background of BSR on my first read, I was caught off guard (and frankly I didn't even "get" the big deal about them being rakh!) I always thought it was a cop out to have Damien *dream* the right answer instead of saving it for later when Damien and Gerald had more clues, though. ;)

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a cop-out even after BSR. ;-)

How hard was it to go straight into WTNF? It seems to me that a lot of things don't get explained a second time after they came up in BSR.

[ladyphoenix9]

I was totally sucked in with CoS (I read the whole thing on New Year's Eve 1998/1999 in one sitting -- I couldn't stop reading!) WTNF was harder to get into, I think partly because I had confused Siska (sp?) from the very beginning of CoS with Hesseth, and also because I had to actually go to class and didn't get to read it nonstop.

Plotwise, I think it stands up well enough on its own that I didn't feel lost, but I was thinking, hm, I don't know, like the rakh were the "friendly aliens." BSR burst my happy thoughts on that quickly enough. ;)