Coldfire re-read: When True Night Falls - chapter 27

[trobadora]

And our villain anti-hero hero flies to the rescue!

Also, we're starting on the Temptation of the Prophet. ;-)

Plot summary
Damien and Hesseth are locked up with Jenseny. Damien obsesses about personal hygiene, but is eventually distracted from this scintillating topic by Jenseny. He Knows her (get your mind out of the gutter, there!), and eventually talks to her while they wait for Tarrant to show up and save them. Eventually they're all taken out to be shot at dawn sacrificed to Calesta. Just as the Terata are about to go for them, Tarrant swoops in, kills the Terata and saves them. On Damien's insistence he agrees to let Jenseny live, and they flee.

Tarrant's not happy to have Jenseny along, but puts up with her for the time being. When they make camp, he and Damien argue about it, and Tarrant leaves to have a secret meeting with Karril, who brings him a message from the Undying Prince - the offer to make him a god if he allies with him.

Quotes

• His own body had fought off food poisoning often enough that he thought he must have calluses on his stomach lining by now, but even so he ate little. Just enough to keep up his strength. Weakness could be as dangerous as food poisoning in a place like this.


• He couldn't bring himself to tell her that priests didn't kill. Children had an uncanny ability to tell when you were lying, and he sensed that if he lost her trust now he'd lose her forever. So he said very gently, "Priests kill sometimes. But where I come from, they only kill the faeborn. So that people don't have to be afraid all the time."


• Religious sacrifices. Adepts left to die. No wonder there's power here. No wonder it's so chaotic. A tribe of rejected children, dedicated to rescuing other children from the abuses of eastern society. It made sense in a way. But why did it seem so unwholesome? Why did some of the children seem so . . . well, so odd, as they approached the base of the great statue? Why was it that Damien couldn't seem to focus on some of them?


• And then it came. Not a fae-wraith, though at first it seemed to be. Broad white wings beat back the mist, fanning it into fevered twisters about the border of the clearing. Diamondine claws reached for the statue's shoulder, then shut closed about it; obsidian crumbled like ash at the contact. It was an immense creature, and though it wore a bird's form it was clearly much more than a bird. Its white feathers smoked as it sat on the statue, their tips turning black and then crumbling to ash as it fanned the gray mist with its wings. At times Damien thought he could see the faint spark of golden flames between the snow-white layers.
  And maybe that was what gave it away. Maybe it was the image of burning, so deeply rooted in his memory, that awakened him to who and what the great bird was.
  "Tarrant," he whispered. Gazing at him in awe. He couldn't even imagine what kind of courage it must take for the Hunter to leave his shelter while the sun was still high in the sky. The mist might help, but it was only temporary; a few gusts of wind, from the right direction and the Neocount would be totally exposed.


• And then the silver-blue power shot out like a tongue of flame, licking at the face of one of the children. Whatever scream the girl might have voiced was frozen in her throat as she went down, and she died in eerie silence. The unflames licked at another, then another, and bodies began to fall about the circle. Some children screamed. Some turned to run. Damien wanted to turn his eyes and look away, but his conscience wouldn't permit him to do it. You brought this man here, he told himself harshly. Forcing himself to watch. Never forget what he is. Never forget what he can and will do. As all about them children screamed, children ran, children tripped over piles of bodies and struggled for balance as the silver-blue flames licked out at them, consuming the very heat of their lives in an instant. All about lay the dead, the fallen, their lips a cold blue, their eyes frozen and empty.


• Only they weren't really children.
  He staggered toward the nearest clump of bodies, aware that Tarrant was moving with him. Heat lanced up through his arches as he walked on the sunlit ground, and it felt like his head was on fire. He knelt down by one of the bodies and stared at it in horror and amazement. What had seemed the body of a child was transformed through Tarrant's vision into something twisted, something grotesque, a creature whom the years had tortured even while it played at childish games and believed itself to be truly young. The limbs were skeleton-thin, the torso so emaciated that ribs could be counted. Its joints were swollen with thick calcium deposits that must have made each movement a torment, and a yellow discoloration had begun to envelop one arm.


• The figure smiled; the cold eyes gleamed. "I can make you a god." it pronounced. "My people control the reins of faith in the north. I can put them at your disposal. You can conquer the north in an instant - a vengeful deity whose arrival makes the priesthood of the One quail in terror - or you can play a more subtle game. After a decade of careful propaganda, the Prophet could live again. Within two decades, he could be deified. Within a century . . ." He gestured broadly. "But I hardly have to describe to you what the power of the popular imagination can accomplish. Think about it, Neocount. The power of a god. The options of a deity. What will the patrons of Hell think of you then, when you raise yourself up out of their clutches forever?"

Thoughts

• Damien's thoughts about food poisoning just remind me how annoying it is that we know so little about the man's past.


• Damien doesn't attempt a comforting lie with Jenseny. Another reason to like the man.


• We get a lot of hints that there's something wrong with the Terata (besides the obvious) long before it's revealed what they really are. For those of you who remember your first reading - did you catch on?


• Tarrant saving Damien & co. again: Keepers of the rescue tally, what are we up to now? :D


• Even while he's horrified that the Hunter's just killed a bunch of children, Damien can't help worry about Tarrant and whether or not he's hurting. Sweet. :D


• Tarrant with his adept's vision can See through Calesta's illusions to what the Terata really are. Do you think that's because of Karril's intervention that removed other maskings as well? On the other hand, it's pretty strongly implied that Jenseny also sees through it. That could possibly be applied to tidal power, but I think then they'd have had a much easier time of it. What do you think?


• Tarrant leaving the Terata children alive as Damien asked: What do you think his reasons were? Mercy, after all, isn't in his repertoire - he couldn't afford it. So he must have had at least a decently evil rationalisation. ;-)


• The Undying Idiot is even more blinkered than I thought - here he actually talks about the Iezu being replaceable servants. Oh deary me. *g* And one must really worry about him with regard to Tarrant - did he not anticipate that Tarrant wouldn't be content to be the second immortal around, even if he did agree to a temporary alliance? *eyerolls*


• Nonetheless, the Prince's offer seems pretty good, doesn't it? Godhood, true immortality, freedom from the Unnamed. Not so easy to turn down! When you first read the book, did you expect Tarrant to take the offer and betray Damien? Did you expect him to resist temptation? I'm really curious, especially since I can't remember at all what I thought myself.

On Thursday, we'll be continuing with chapter 28 ...

Comments

[rekishi]

Also, Damien is awed at the display of the Hunter. It is interesting that Tarrant still can incite this fascination in Damien, too. But maybe that's the fascination of morbidity, that's innate in most humans? I mean, Tarrant sure fascinates ME still.

And I suppose it's Adept's vision, Calesta only truly needed to mask them from normal humans, the Terata that are Adepts as well either blinded themselves towards the truth or simply concluded that there was nowhere else for them to go. I don't know.

Tarrant leaving the Terata children alive as Damien asked: What do you think his reasons were? Mercy, after all, isn't in his repertoire - he couldn't afford it. So he must have had at least a decently evil rationalisation. ;-)

He destroyed the bridge. He cut them off from possibly food sources. They will prey among each other, eventually. Ergo? Fear and pain and death. That's no mercy and Damien, in all honesty, should have known. But maybe he didn't want to know, which I could understand just as well.

The Undying Idiot *g* Well, as for his view on Tarrant, maybe he really IS that delusional. Or he's unable to really see what's what. Or he isn't able to consider who Tarrant truly is?

And I didn't think Tarrant would go for it. I don't know why. Maybe I hoped he would stand to his loyalty towards Damien and their common cause. And no, I don't know why I would believe in the good in Gerald, of all people ^^; But I remember I was extremely shocked later on when the betrayal seemed imminent.

But I loved Tarrant's rescue here.

[trobadora]

He's fascinating all of us, and I'm not sure I'd call it morbidity. If nothing else, there's something very attractive about competence and elegance, no matter what purpose they're applied to. *g*

I believe Calesta purposely distorted the Terata's own self-perception, which we know he can do to an adept easily enough if he tries. Which is why Jenseny baffles me a bit; after all, they considered her a new recruit, and yet she saw through the illusion. On the one hand, I can't see any explanation for that other than her access to tidal power; but on the other hand, if that were it Hesseth should have been able to see through it as well, shouldn't she? Gah, this is complicated.

Good point on cutting the Terata off from their food supply, btw.

And I loved Tarrant's rescue as well, with him swooping down like that. :D

[rekishi]

And intelligence. Don't forget Tarrant's mind, it's....a thing of wonder (for me ;)).

But yeah, Jenseny is an Adept, I don't think Hesseth sees the tidal fae as much as she...senses it? Unfortunately we never quite got that kind of insight into how the rakh's perception fae works, or of any other animal native to Erna, for that matter. We know the males have no way to Work them, the females do but we don't know if they have to Work their sight (like humans have to do with the earth fae) or if they perceive them in any other way?

I also love Tarrant's chosen forms, large birds of prey and the like.

[trobadora]

Absolutely true about intelligence. :D

And I suppose you're right - we don't really know enough about how the rakh see the fae to be able to compare. Bugger, I wish she'd explained that more!

[ladyphoenix9]

I would reread this book for this set of chapters over and over and over...

Anyway:

Calesta's illusions: This was the section (along with the wrong stars in CoS near the end) that made me think the Iezu illusion was not perfect and if you were alert enough and knew what to look for, you could spot the illusion was taking place...not necessarily break it, but know that something is going on and it's "wrong." Maybe with an adept's extra cadre of senses, the "wrongness" is easier to spot? And Jenseny's tidal fae is probably not a power the Iezu had ever tried to trick before, which might have made it even easier for her to spot it.

The leftover Terata: I assumed Tarrant left them to shut up Damien (to make life easier on himself) and justified it as them dying slowly and in more fear (to make it suitably evil.) Or he'd circle back one night for a Terata-snack, or maybe even leave a little fear-battery he could draw on when he needed a boost. *g*

I never could take Mr. Idiot seriously. He was like...some nebulous guy on the sideline pretending to be badass and failing. It's almost the same as Crazy Lady of Lema in the first book, just a little more coherent, only equally short-sighted.

[trobadora]

I agree that an adept's senses should be more likely to see through such an illusion unless the Iezu paid special attention to fooling them, but on the other hand the Terata regarded Jenseny as a new recruit, didn't they? So I'm not sure why she wasn't included in the self-deception Calesta provided for the other Terata. Weird. And if it was tidal fae, shouldn't Hesseth have caught a glimpse as well?

And hey, I love the idea of Tarrant thinking of the Terata as a convenient snack for a later time. *g*

Agreed that the Undying Idiot isn't any more of a serious enemy than the Master of Lema - and the latter at least had the excuse of insanity for some of her less than amazing decisions. *sighs* (Not that the books don't work perfectly well with these villains - they don't matter enough, after all.)

[alice_montrose]

I suspected there was something weird with the Terata, but I had no idea what until Gerald opened our eyes with his awesome powers of mass murder. You have to admit, he's pretty awesome when he gets all nasty like this. It also reminds us he is not human at the damnedest times. You get used to him being all calculated and arguing with Damien and then he goes ahead and pulls something like this... or something like in the later chapters. And I think it's amazing, and that Damien should get used to the idea Gerald was and always is the wild card.

I stopped keeping tally of the rescues after the tenth time. *shrugs*

Regarding the illusion and Seeing through it. I believe Calesta knew exactly against whom he had to work, which is why Damien couldn't See through it and it's debatable if Gerald could or couldn't have before Karril intervened. However, Jenseny could See because Calesta probably had no idea about her being an Adept able to manipulate tidal fae. In fact, rom what I can remember there's no suggestion Calesta knew about her at all before this chapter.

That being said, the Gerald/Damien/Jenseny interaction is always fun to behold? (I can barely wait for the One God showing up, it's one of my favourite passages.)

The Undying Idiot should have expected Gerald id not think like regular power- and immortality-hungering people and anticipated the backstabbing that was to come. He also doesn't plan for other things, which does make me wonder.

[trobadora]

Tarrant's fantastic here, saviour and killer all in one. I love that to pieces.

If it was tidal fae that let Jenseny see through the illusion, don't you think Hesseth should at least have caught a glimpse, too? She may not be an adept, but she does have access to tidal power.

And the Undying Idiot was probably too used to Calesta taking care of his problems. *g* Just goes to show: Never delegate your thinking!

[alice_montrose]

don't you think Hesseth should at least have caught a glimpse, too?

She should have.. or not. Because Calesta knew female rakh could manipulate tidal fae (see matrias), after all. It's all a matter of speculation, really. :)It also goes to show you can never trust minions, regardless of how you treat them. Treat them well, and they'll stab you in the back (Amoril). Treat them badly, and they'll come up with their own agenda (Calesta). The Mother of the Iezu had the best idea, really - don't let anyone know too much, your own children included!

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

Damien's thoughts about food poisoning just remind me how annoying it is that we know so little about the man's past.
Agree with you totally here!
...a lot of hints that there's something wrong with the Terata (besides the obvious) long before it's revealed...
I remember wondering where the adults or young adults were - because it looked like a society established long ago so there had to be adults. And since I don't think any adult in his right mind would let children go hunting I suspected something wrong from their first appearance. In a group of people living in a very dangerous area there should be more adults than children because little children are more in danger of nearly anything (getting lost, being killed by natural predators, getting sick, malnourishment etc.) and therefore hard to keep save.
Tarrant with his adept's vision can See through Calesta's illusions to what the Terata really are.
Beg pardon but he can't! Not right from the start anyway where he sees exactly nothing. Why else would he have summoned Karril? To drink tee and have a midnight heart-to-heart? ;-) So yes I think Gerald was able to see through because of Karril's intervention . And a Iezu can fool any senses - even those of an Adept (see CoS!). If he (or she, BTW, do Iezu ever have a gender? I seem to remember they don't since they're shape-shifters but I'm not sure...) made some mistakes while creating his illusion, those mistakes (see again CoS, that scene with Almea's ghost) can be used to, well, getting aware of the illusion and sometimes even to break it. As for Jenseny and Hesseth... I think to See the tidal fae requires far, far better developed senses which is why humans can only See hints of it, maybe with the exception of Adepts (but aren't they stronger by definition?). So I imagine it to be a greater effort to deceive such senses especially if the Iezu in question doesn't know about Jenseny's abilities. And even Jenseny can be fooled when the tidal fae isn't available. And Hesseth isn't an Adept and thus less powerful, so her senses could be manipulated more easily.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Karril shows up as a woman at one point, so Iezu can shift gender. But we get two male (Karril and Calesta) and one female (Saris) Iezu, who call each other brother and sister respectively. So I'd say they're showing preference for one gender, and just grab the other variant when necessary.

And even Jenseny can be fooled when the tidal fae isn't available. And Hesseth isn't an Adept and thus less powerful, so her senses could be manipulated more easily.

You're making me think here - can we be sure about Hesseth's power level? We've got Gerald as the Adept comparison, but he draws on a completely different sort of fae, one that is always available. For the rakh, fae use seems a lot more natural than for a sorcerer like Damien - it's a bit like for Adepts, who simply grow up with it. So the rakh might be closer to human Adepts overall when it comes down to ability and natural adeptitude.

Jenseny's a bit trickier. I'm not sure whether she only sees things while the tidal fae is active, or if it is a permanent state for her that just increases in volume whenever the tidal fae is active. If it's the latter, she could be an adept with the additional access to the tidal fae. Although I daresay in that case Gerald would have paid a lot more attention to her wellbeing, just so he could take her home and apprentice her.

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

So I'd say they're showing preference for one gender, and just grab the other variant when necessary.
Good point! I wonder if that preference is caused by the gender of the other parent, I mean the human whose mind was used to take that Iezu's aspect from.

For the rakh, fae use seems a lot more natural than for a sorcerer like Damien...
If that were the case and they all could manipulate the fae to the same extent then what do they need rakh like Hesseth for? (because we know that's not only for communication...) I think the rakh as a whole can Work the earth fae because of something very akin to a collective (sub)consciousness (I don't remember that line exactly but Hesseth said something about when rakh need rain, it rains). BTW, I think Erna is a bit like a single, very complex organism with all beings on it somewhat like unicellular organisms in symbiosis with each other and the planet. That is, before humans came. And here's wherein the humans' problem with the fae lies. The fae responds to all those various individuals and their chaotic thoughts whereas the needs and thoughts of rakh are more... in harmony... for the lack of a better term.
So I don't think all rakh are close to human Adepts but you might have a point on the fae being natural for them.
And Jenseny can't Work when there's nothing to Work with as can't Hesseth. She went with the Terata without complain until 'the Light' struck. Furthermore, I think it's said somewhere (has Gerald sad so to Damien somewhere in BSR?) that tidal fae is stronger than the earth fae when available, more difficult to control and more dangerous to use. And Jenseny can do this after a little teaching! And she can See not only the tidal fae but the earth fae as well which is probably confusing because sometimes one may think it's tidal, too. BTW, anyone able to See the fae no matter which one without adjusting his or her Sight first is an Adept by definition.

[rekishi]

I suppose Jenseny is an Adept able to see the tidal fae (which is also why Gerald seriously doesn't care, I guess, too fickle a power and Jenseny is not exactly sane; he said, few Adepts come away sane out of childhood). But we don't know anything about the rakh perception of fae, tidal or earth. I don't think, as I said further up, that Hesseth exactly sees the fae but has kind of an additional sense for it.

We know that few Adepts come away sane from growing up with the fae, I think it wouldn't be much different for rakh if they perpetually saw what was flowing around them. So I guess they have a different kind of perception for it.

[trobadora]

I think it wouldn't be much different for rakh if they perpetually saw what was flowing around them

It might be - they're a native species after all, and their brains work differently, so what would drive a human insane could be perfectly unremarkable for a rakh.

[trobadora]

We know too little about how the rakh see the fae to really make any comparison, I think. Frustrating!

And Jenseny's an adept - someone who sees the fae without any training or effort -, just perhaps not the usual variety. Not sure why her abilities would make Gerald pay more attention to her here - he sees her as a wildcard, and simply has no time or patience for her here and now. In another time and place, yes, maybe. *g*

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Didn't Hesseth talk about it in the previous chapter? They can glimpse the tidal fae now and then, but they train themselves not to, and whatever their experience of the fae is, it doesn't seem to function quite the same way as the human experience of it.

Or maybe she could've seen through it the same way as Jenseny, if they'd been there long enough for the tidal fae to surge. From what I understand about Iezu illusions, they just make things appear different. But Iezu aren't perfect, and their illusion goes only so far as they apply it--so you can catch them out on the details, or if you're using senses they didn't think to address.

[trobadora]

Good on you for catching up about the Terata so early!

Beg pardon but he can't!

You misunderstand me - what I mean is, once the general illusion over the valley is lifted for him, Tarrant can see the Terata's real self without any additional effort (hence attributing it to his natural Sight - to adeptitude). And my question was whether an adept might be able to see through a Iezu illusion that wasn't directed at them - the Terata illusion, here, seems mostly for the Terata's own benefit, after all. And Jenseny did see through the illusion only when the tidal fae surged, but that may be due to the fact that that's how she uses the fae in general, not something specific to tidal fae. I'm just not sure about the logistics.

And alighiera already said what I was going to say about Iezu gender. :-)

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

...once the general illusion over the valley is lifted for him, Tarrant can see the Terata's real self without any additional effort...
How do we know if that is by his own ability or maybe did Calesta lift that illusion for him, too, and for Gerald only? We know from BSR that Iezu can maintain a lot of illusions simultaneously (remember how each visitor of Karril's temple sees the version designed only for him or her?) So what if Calesta lifted the illusion around the Terata for Gerald to demonstrate the extent of his power but kept it up for Damien&Co since he doesn't perceive them as powerful a treat as the Hunter? You know, that violent reaction of Gerald's to Damien's remark about the Terata being children puzzled me. Gerald's losing control here but why? Yes, alright, he knows the Terata belong to Calesta and are his creation. Yes, alright, let's enjoy killing them. What for? Besides the fact Gerald needs to hunt, of course, which would be reason enough but why that emotional here, dear Hunter? It would make sense if Gerald were a normal guy with morals and knew they were killing their own kind for probably decades if not centuries. But since he isn't and usually doesn't care about humans killing each other, why would he bother at all, he's been killing innocents just as long if not longer... For holding the rest of the party captive? Because Gerald suddenly realizes his feelings for Damien and doesn't want him to die? ;D As much as I would like that (and perhaps there is a very, very, very small bit of that in the mix) but no. Gerald's angry and afraid here and that's too bad a mix to help keep up a facade. I think he's angry at himself for not being able to manage the situation without Karril's help (we know Gerald doesn't take helplessness well but then again, who does?) and he's afraid because there's someone who can fool him so easily (helplessness again). Discovering his only friend for ages holds the same power might add to that. He of course might be angry at Damien for that latter getting himself and others into a situation like this in addition... ('blame it on the weather man' *sings*)... but there's definitely more to that.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Damien really baffles me now that I'm paying close attention to the little details. Just in the last few chapters we got experience with food poisoning, rock climbing, captivity and chases across wild country, plus experience with court life and political machinations. Whatever his job description back in the Western Autarchy is, I'd love to have a look at it.

Tarrant leaving the Terata children alive as Damien asked: What do you think his reasons were?

Avoidance of having Damien rant and then sulk for days. A purely egoistical motive for his own convenience. ;-)

On my first read I was convinced Gerald would manage to trick the Prince into giving him goodhood, immortality and independence and then overthrow him somehow so Damien wouldn't be betrayed. It was far too obvious that he would never, ever, share power with someone else. Have a pet, sure, but he's currently got Damien so why look at someone else?

The rescue tally is 6:8 in Gerald's favour. Damien's going to have to work for it!

[trobadora]

Yes! Damien's experiences are ... okay, elsewhere we'd call that a Mary Sue, because it looks like he's been everywhere and done everything. *g*

Thanks for the rescue tally update!

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

Sorry, forgot the Undying Idiot's offer!
That guy's just as one-dimensional a character as is the Master of Lema; just the usual hunger for power, immortality, whatever else, etc., etc... I missed depth here. Perhaps something about why exactly the Crazy Lady wanted so much power? To protect herself from what? From who? Or just what plans did the Undying Idiot have with his country? Simply to rule it forever? Sorry, that's how it goes in 'Conan, the Barbarian' series or the like but not here.

And as for the offer itself... No, I didn't expect Gerald would take it. First, he's clever. And with offers like this there's always something in the small print. Second, he has his code of honor. To take that offer would mean betraying himself and we know he sticks to that code no matter what. Third, taking an offer from an enemy usually means defeat (even if it's a treaty or a nonaggression pact you usually don't get what you first intended since both sides have to make a compromise), and we know Gerald stubbornly refuses to admit that even if he is. So, I thought it a ruse all the time and pitied Damien - because Gerald's such a good actor there was no way for him to realize it was a deception. For Damien realizing too early it was one would be quite contra-productive since Iezu can reed minds...

[trobadora]

I think it's implied at one point that the Master of Lema was a former host of the Undying Prince, so all her schemes for power would have been to protect herself against him. But that could have been made a hell of a lot clearer!

As for Gerald, I'm not sure how taking the offer would mean betraying himself here - he hasn't given his word, has he? Agreed on the rest, though!

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

As for Gerald, I'm not sure how taking the offer would mean betraying himself here - he hasn't given his word, has he?
Now how am I ever supposed to explain this... Alright, I'll try. In my opinion, it has something to do with the way how the Undying Idiot tries to make Gerald switch sides as well with Gerald's complex personality.
1) Gerald, being a great manipulator himself, of course doesn't like to be manipulated. Especially not by someone like the Undying Idiot who's so not in Gerald's league.
2) The offer itself is, well... how to put it? ... blunt - as in unaesthetic. It lacks that certain elegance Gerald always shows and appreciates if I may put it that way. *despairs* Remember his first conversation with Narilka? Wasn't that beautiful? And the Hunter even kills with beauty ... and of course only beauties! So I think the offer would go against his sense of aesthetic. Absurd to anyone else, of course, but Gerald's vanity is part of his personality. He's working hard to keep his soul out of the Unnamed Ones' reach so clinging to various aspects of personality may indeed be very important. Things like these can sometimes even help stay sane...
3) He has this code of honor that wouldn't let him leave an obligation unpaid, and he knows he owes Damien much (his live for example!). I think that a crucial trait, too, so to betray them would be a dishonorable action even in his eyes and would endanger that thin line he walks. It could even be (I'm an optimistic *grin*), that since he simply needs their party to achieve their mutual goal, he might feel a little (just the tiniest bit) responsible for them though the whole of that mission was Damien's idea. And we know how seriously Gerald takes his responsibilities (see BSR).
It's a pity though he didn't proclaimed his intention to protect them openly under the stars ;-) but a promise don't have to be spoken aloud to be made. In this twisted way of his.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

I didn't expect Tarrant to take the offer, but I bought it when it seemed like he had. I was baffled as to how this would work, seeing where it happens in the trilogy, and how much of a main character Tarrant is, and I couldn't work out how the story would progress if they lost him to the bad guys at this point. But doubts aside, it took me in!

I think the Prince can be a significant threat, but I expect he's gotten soft, slacking off because he set up the whole continent to his liking so long ago, before Calesta came along and spent...heck, how long was he able to work on the Prince to get him to believe everything he wanted? He might be more threatening if it weren't Tarrant he were up against, but in the event, it's like some random bad guy with a lightsaber trying to take on Darth Vader. There's only one way it can end.

I figured Tarrant left the children alive just so Damien wouldn't bitch at him for the rest of his unnaturally long life. XD

[trobadora]

but in the event, it's like some random bad guy with a lightsaber trying to take on Darth Vader

Perfect. Yes, that. :D

And to think, the Prince is basically in charge of a continent, and the Hunter only has the Forest as his undisputed domain. And yet ... there's just no question who of the two is more dangerous. Even with what little we know about the Prince - none at all.

I figured Tarrant left the children alive just so Damien wouldn't bitch at him for the rest of his unnaturally long life. XD

Proper, selfish motivation, then. I approve. *g*