Coldfire re-read: When True Night Falls - chapters 43 and 44

[trobadora]

The plot thickens ... and we get a glimpse into Tarrant's mind that nonetheless cunningly refrains from spelling anything out too clearly. *g*

Plot summary

Chapter 43
Tarrant finally meets the Prince. There is some very formal posturing, and the Prince offers Tarrant a hunt. Tarrant accepts.

Chapter 44
Damien recovers from the drug he was given, and he and Jenseny are visited by the Prince, who Works a Knowing on Damien to check Tarrant's loyalties. Since Damien believes in Tarrant's betrayal, so does the Prince. (Well played, Tarrant!) Meanwhile, Tarrant has flown away and taken refuge near a volcano, making his preparations.

Quotes

• Tarrant watched it for a long time, though the sunlight made his eyes burn. How odd, that even after sunset it might still affect him so. There must be some special property to the crystal that enabled the solar fae to cling to its substance long after its carrier, mere light, had faded. How curious. He had never experimented with crystal himself, prefering the storage capacity of ice and silver and finely honed steel, but he knew there were those who swore by it.


• "Hardly." He chuckled. "We're very much alike, you and I. If we can ever learn to trust each other enough to work together, it will be quite an alliance."
  "I'll admit that the potential intrigues me."
  "And the promise of godhood, eh? No small reward for a simple betrayal."
  "If you think it was simple," the Hunter said quietly, "then perhaps you don't know me as well as you think."


• The Prince's gaze was intense. "A Iezu is born every hour, it's said. A man like yourself . . . once in a lifetime. If that. I made my choice when I invited you here."


• What would happen to this precious child when the end came, where her soul was free to ride the currents of Erna? The One God took care of His Own, it was said, and she was hardly a member of His flock. What happened to those who embraced no god, who gave no thought to an afterlife, but simply lived from birth to death in the best way they knew how? In a world where faith could create gods and demons, where prayers could sculpt heaven and hell, what happened to those who gave no thought to the moment after death, who made no provision for dying?


• With one part of his mind he saw the body that stood before him: lean, aging, draped in a sleeveless robe of crimson silk that opened down the front to reveal a tighter, more tailored layer. He was fifty, maybe sixty, and the thin gold band that held back his hair betrayed graying temples, aging skin, a receding hairline.
  Utterly familiar.
  For a moment he was back in the rakhlands. Kneeling before the Master of Lema, his hands tied behind his back with simple rope (what he wouldn't give for that now!), at the mercy of her madness as a demon whispered behind her shoulder, There is always torture.
  They were the same, she and this man. Not in body. Not in gender. Not even in their features, or any other physical attribute. But in their clothing - their bearing - even their expression! Watching him move was like watching her move; being bound before him was like reliving that awful day, when he waited in vain for the earth to move, to save him from her madness.


• Damn you, Hunter! I trusted you. I did. How many others have you seduced into that fatal mistake over the ages? How many others wanted to believe that the Hunter's soul was still human, only to discover in the end that it was as cold and as ruthless as the Wasting?


• An Obscuring would have been far easier to establish, but that only decreased the chance of an object being noticed. A Distracting was more effective - he had used one against Damien and Jenseny at the river - but that was more suited to a single moment in time than a lasting need for secrecy. And a sorcerer might notice either of those Workings if he were alert for it, which the Prince most certainly was. No, this had to be the real thing. And that must affect not only the mind of the observer but reality itself, remaking the physical world so that nowhere was there even a shadow of its existence. True invisibility. Scholars had argued that it wasn't possible. He had argued that it was. And here, on this torrid ridge, he was about to bet his life on that assessment.


• When at last he was done, he leaned back, exhausted, and studied his creation. Out here in the field it looked good, but if the Prince turned his attention upon it . . .
  Then we'll find out if I'm right or not, he thought grimly. The hard way.

Thoughts

• The Prince offering to dump Calesta for Tarrant ... he's either a braggart or completely delusional. Probably both. (He really thinks he can get rid of Calesta just like that? *snorts*) Did any reader really buy that he could be capable of that? Even at that point, we know enough about Iezu powers that it doesn't seem credible, does it? Or is hindsight misleading me here?
  Well, at least the Prince sounds competent at handling volcanoes. (Seriously, competent villains are so much better.)


• Okay, I can accept the idea that crystals can somehow store the fae, but no matter how much the books try to make it sound reasonable, this kind of architecture just doesn't make any sense to me.


• Tarrant's line about the betrayal not being simple: He's very honest here, but the Prince never picks up on that fundamental difference between them. He doesn't seem to grasp the importance Tarrant places on his code of honour at all. What do you think the Prince made of that admission? He must have thought something. (Well, one hopes!)


• Damien's thoughts about the Afterlife are fascinating. What do you think happens to people who don't have any specific belief about the afterlife? If you're an agnostic, what does that get you? Is it even possible to be agnostic on Erna?


• The parallels between the Prince and the Master, with the Master as basically a copy of the Prince: one of the few places where either of them comes across as truly creepy, and it's all in Damien's fear.


• It's very rare that we get any insight into Tarrant's POV, and of course these scenes here are careful not to give too much away about the plot. How well do you like these little glimpses into Tarrant's mind, though? Does he look as fascinating from the inside as he does from the outside?


• Invisibility: Once again Tarrant's accomplished the impossible. He must be allergic to being told something can't be done. *g*

On Thursday, we'll be continuing with chapters 45 and 46 ...

Comments

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

this kind of architecture just doesn't make any sense to me

Maybe not, but it would look fricking amazing :D

(and alas, that's my only addition. I've got behind on my reading!)

[trobadora]

Beauty before function, then? *g*

No worries, the post will still be here whenever you catch up. I'm rather a lot behind both on commenting and on answering comments, myself. *sighs*

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Can you imagine giving directions? "Well, I live in the big palace made entirely of crystal! You can't miss it" ;)

[trobadora]

At least people will never have to wonder if they've got the right address!

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Yes, but... maybe that's what the local architecture looks like? It's not like humans haven't gone for odd architectural styles now and then.

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

that crystals can somehow store the fae...
I thought it a nice idea, such a wicked and beautiful trap for the Hunter, I mean, if your ability to move is limited by walls glowing with sunlight... It had to be this because if Gerald could have killed the Undying Idiot and get away on his own (do it in the midst of the night and fly away) then what would he need Damien for? Since I actually like crystals as a store for magic (even if the fae, as Damien pointed out to the Patriarch, isn't magic) though the idea is clearly over-abused by fantasy authors, I even drew the fortress. It was a hell of work with all the facets! To build it must be a true horror worth the Hunter's attention! *g*
Tarrant's line about the betrayal not being simple...
Oh yes. When I first read that line it made me think that true betrayal only can take place where there is true trust. Or love. *g*

[trobadora]

Well, it's nice as a storage device and as a trap, but as a building for actual people to actually live in? Sorry, I just don't see it. *g*

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

It's a nifty trap, but whenever I try to imagine it, I inevitably end up pitying the poor soul who has to keep all those crystal surfaces free from fingerprints. It's never-ending window-cleaning!

[fragorl.livejournal.com]

dude I dont care I WANT one lol. It does strike me that from the descriptions we have the prince seems to have a better sense of comfort than Tarrant given that Tarrant lives in the black and red velvet furnishings which are kinda ott and not particularly origional - cool - but a bit overwhelming really, whereas this castle seems to be really central - I guess because for all his evil Tarrant has been really quite careful NOT to get overinvolved in the running of things- i think we are shown how different it could have been if he had had a more malevolent intention in mind - if the prince can manage it he certainly could and while kidnaping the occasional female isnt nice he could have caused a great deal more of mayhem...

[trobadora]

i think we are shown how different it could have been if he had had a more malevolent intention in mind

That's definitely an interesting point because yeah, Tarrant could have done far worse than he actually did.