Coldfire re-read: Crown of Shadows - chapters 10-13

[trobadora]

Hi all! I'm done with my extremely busy September, so I'm finally joining the discussion here again. :) Today, we've got four short chapters:

Plot summary

Chapter 10
The Patriarch dreams of war and thinks in icky metaphors. Seriously, I'm all for some pathos, but this? He loves them as the birds must love, when they push their babies out of the nest to force their wings to open. It is a special and terrible love, and he thanks God for letting him taste it. *cringes* Anyway, when he wakes and goes to pray, he meets the Prophet himself in the chapel, is tempted, rejects temptation, and yet is tempted again.

Chapter 11
Andrys arrives at the Jaggonath cathedral, ponders the problems of being there at the behest of a demon, and discovers the Prophet's likeness in the cathedral.

Chapter 12
Amoril betrays the Hunter, making a deal with the Unnamed, but neglects to read the fine print, thereby proving once and for all that he's a dunderhead. (To use a term favoured by someone with sarcasm skills similar to Tarrant's. *g*)

Chapter 13
The Mother thinks about her children and wonders if she should do away with the rebellious ones and make a new attempt. (I'm sure most parents can sympathise. *g*)

Quotes

• But it will not be as it was before, five hundred years ago in the age of their defeat. This time they will use the tools that Erna has provided, and focus their energies on one single point within that corrupted realm. Night's keep-Hell's watch-the Hunter's lair. Destroy it and the Forest will shake. Destroy its owner and the Forest will crumble, its power soured to chaos, its very earth made malleable by that action.
  Five hundred years ago the Church tried to conquer a universe, and reaped its own devastation. This time they make war against a symbol, and all the power of God will back them. He feels the thrill of that utter certainty as he looks out over his troops, as his eyes fix upon the one special weapon which will make their invasion possible -


• The dark eyes flickered toward the altar, then back again. "A fate that neither you nor I would court has made us allies, it seems. I came to offer my services."
  "No." His heart was racing; it took everything he had to sound calm and collected when he was anything but. Was he really standing here talking to the man who founded and then betrayed his Church? Up until a year ago he would have considered that patently impossible. Even now, knowing otherwise, it was hard to absorb the truth. "Not allies, Neocount. Enemies."


• "You already have what you need to safeguard your Church. What you lack is an understanding of how to use it. I came to bring you that, no more."
  "And I reject that offer," he said coolly. Watching a flicker of anger spark in those pale, dead eyes. "I'm not Damien Vryce, or any of the other souls you've corrupted over the years. Some of those must have started out just this way, yes? Wanting your power enough to compromise their faith. Trusting you, long enough to forget who and what they were." Strength was coming into his voice now, and the full oratory power of a Patriarch. "I won't make Vryce's mistake," he said firmly. "I won't take that first step. We'll wage our battles alone, and win them or lose them according to God's will."


• "All I offer you is knowledge. The chance to see your own arsenal for what it is, without delusion masking it. That knowledge could save your people!" His pale eyes fixed on the Patriarch again, with fierce intensity. "It will also, most probably, destroy you." He held the crystal aloft as if in illustration, then slowly laid it down upon the altar cloth. "Are you willing to make such a sacrifice for your Church? I wonder."


• Blue facets, glinting in the candlelight. Power, in carefully measured dose. Was this thing salvation? Destruction? Or both? The world isn 't made up of black and white, but shades of gray. Who had said that once? Vryce? He shivered as the words struck home. Too easy an answer, he told himself. Too tempting a refuge. Indecision is cowardice. Uncertainty is weakness. And we can afford neither, in the face of this enemy. Trembling, he prayed.


• If you prefer to continue without me, the cold voice warned, that can be arranged.
  That fear was worse than all the others combined. "No!" he whispered. "Don't leave me!" What would he be without Calesta? He no longer had a life of his own, but was defined by the demon's will, the demon's plans. How would he survive alone, facing his memories with no hope of redress?
  Then go, the voice commanded, and its tone was like acid. Obey.


• "State the terms of our compact," the albino demanded. It was his first command to the unnamed power that had approached him so very long ago. For one who had never commanded demons in his own right, it was a heady tonic. "Clearly and simply. I want no room for confusion."
  We will sustain you as we once sustained him, beyond natural death. We will give you the Forest which was his, and show you how to control it. We will take him from the face of the planet, so that all his domain may be yours to claim.
  "And in return?" he asked hungrily. The lightless presence coalesced into a single flame, a limitless shadow; it hurt his eyes to look at it directly.
  We must have him, a single voice demanded. It was deeper than those which had sounded before, and power echoed in its wake. Because his soul is independent of Us, We must have a channel in order to claim his flesh. You will give that to Us.
  "And Hell?"
  It seemed to him there was laughter in that blackness; the tenor of it made his skin crawl. He betrayed Us, and must be made to answer for it. Hell may have what is left when We one done.
  And then it asked: Agreed? A thousand voices once more, all echoing the same demand.

Thoughts

• Possibly I'm just being daft, but so far I fail to see the big difference between the holy war then and now. What, they didn't use the tools of their own faith last time? Somehow I find that hard to believe.


• The Hunter offers knowledge, and the Patriarch may reject it at first, but the temptation remains. Echoes of Eden, surely? And yet, there is no garden here, so what price the rejection? It's certainly hard to sympathise with. Of course we're all biased, having followed our favourite antihero for two books already, but still - what are we supposed to think of the Patriarch here? What did you think before you knew how it turns out? What do you think now? I admit I'm too much like Gerald here, finding the rejection of knowledge incomprehensible. (And also, I find the Patriarch's pretentious and patronising attitude rather unbearable, but that's a different matter.)


• Oh dear, Andrys. He's very well justified in seeking revenge, yes, but I don't care how much he wants it, his willingness to turn himself into Calesta's mindless pawn is really offputting. I just can't sympathise with him at all.


• And three for three, here's Amori also being utterly unsympathetic. Only, since he's evil, at least he's supposed to be. *g* He's such a pathetic excuse for a villain, though - he even thinks about others who tried to bargain with the Unnamed and were devoured - but he never even seems to realise the danger he himself is in. I know it's been said before, but hells, couldn't Tarrant have found someone with even half a brain? Is there anyone out there whose response to Amoril is something other than a big huge eyeroll?


• And finally, the fourth of today's chapters gives us something entirely different. What did you think about the Mother, the first time you read the book? Did you get right away who her children were? The hints are there, after all, in WTNF.

On Thursday, we'll be looking back at the first part of Cos, Demon's Wake ...

Comments

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, I'm alive!

The Hunter offers knowledge, and the Patriarch may reject it at first, but the temptation remains. Echoes of Eden, surely? And yet, there is no garden here, so what price the rejection?

Actually, I found it rather compelling. The Patriarch is certainly thinking of Eden. We know that it's self-sacrifice he's being confronted with, but to be fair, the Patriarch has no idea the Hunter can be trusted on the matter. He's assuming fairly reasonably that Tarrant's indulging his Lucifer fetish. He doesn't know the guy or that he's being entirely pragmatic here.

But the price for acceptance is similar. For some people (like Damien and the Patriarch, I suspect), faith just comes easily. It's not necessarily blind, but it can be...innocent, without shades of gray or questions of trust or the scarred strength of doubts overcome. In accepting Tarrant's offer, the Patriarch would be wrecking that innocent, easy faith, essentially casting himself out of his own personal Eden.

But my favorite reason for this scene: compare to Damien's own journey. Here the Patriarch is, being faced with the whole package in microcosm, after spending two and a half books judging Damien over it. He's even throwing Damien in Tarrant's face, so he himself is applying the comparison here. Which is especially entertaining, because Tarrant wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Damien. He's successfully done just what the Prophet said to do: harness evil in the cause of good, and because of that, the choice the Patriarch thinks he's facing isn't what he's actually being offered at all.

When I first read the chapter with the Mother, I was completely confused. I had no idea what was going on, and for a moment entertained the idea that they'd accidentally inserted a chapter from a different book into the printing. :)

[trobadora]

LOL, that's funny about the Mother. *g* I wish I could remember what I thought!

I don't think Damien's faith was ever that blind or innocent - after all, the line of Damien's the Patriarch quotes there, the one about shades of grey, is from the very beginning of the trilogy, before Damien ever even met Gerald.

Damien's struggles with temptation I can understand, even when I don't quite agree with him. The Patriarch seems more willfully blind to me, and playing with other people's lives without doing them the courtesy of even attempting to fully understand what it is he's dealing with, or what his options are. I could even accept that if he were only making choices on his own behalf, but in a leader I find that reprehensible.

(Er. Sorry. I seem to be rather cranky today ...)

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

To me the Patriarch always seems to indulge himself in the luxury of clinging to his faith to the letter, even when the world is crumbling around him and he could be a lot more effective if he bent a little. I remember being irritated by him before I even found out about his little deal with Andrys during my first read - the man is willing to force others into bending, but his own precious little soul must not be risked.

Andrys needs to be whacked. Taking drugs is one thing, signing yourself over to a demon is another. I'd have been more understanding if it had been an immediate reaction after his encounter with Gerald, but years later? No.

My only explanation for Amoril is that Gerald was insanely busy with creating a new insect or two at the time, a servant traipsed in to tell him someone wanted to sign up as his apprentice, and our dear Hunter was so distracted at the time that he just waved his hand and said "yes, whatever, now shut up and let me get those mandibles right". He probably had a few facepalm moments once he figured out who he'd allowed to sign on. ;-)

[trobadora]

Yes, whereas Damien was, even before the Hunter, all about "we'll use the fae even if it tarnishes the user because we can HELP PEOPLE THAT WAY, and that's our sacrifice to make", it's always seemed to me that the Patriarch is way more concerned with his own purity than with his followers. :(

I seriously can't even buy Amoril at all - I mean, Gerald established a bond between them! And we see here just what kind of power that gives Amoril. I really don't see Gerald doing this lightly, so what the hell did Amoril do that made him seem worth it?! Bizarre.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

But...the one thing I can't get past is that Amoril doesn't bathe! Even if he's the only guy in a 1000 mile radius crazy enough to be willing to sign on for an apprenticeship with the Hunter, I'm really not sure Tarrant could get over how smelly he is.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Good point.

Perhaps Tarrant got conned into accepting him, and hasn't found a way out of it yet that won't impeach his honour?

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Maybe Amoril took the time to wash for the job interview, then fell back into unhygienic habits afterward.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

I wonder what that job interview sounded like. The idea of Tarrant screening CVs and resumes... *g* The skills required would be particularly interesting.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Well...it's probably better than your last job. XD *sigh* I bet Tarrant's actually an excellent boss. He's really got his stuff together. Sure, he's evil, but how's that different than usual?

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

In my last job I worked for the Unnamed, that much is clear by now. :-)

He's probably a subscriber to the theory that content employees cause the least fuss. I can't see him bothering with replacing them too often, soa nything that keeps them functioning must be good. Who knows, maybe he sends minions out to high school career days to get the evillest and brightest.

[trobadora]

In my last job I worked for the Unnamed, that much is clear by now. :-)

Nah, I'm sure the Unnamed gives better perks!

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

It sure as hell doesn't rant as much.

[trobadora]

Leaves you alone 99% of the time, too! And you actually can go travel the world. *g*

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

I bet their benefits are better than mine...

[alice_montrose]

The Patriarch [...] meets the Prophet himself in the chapel

Chapter 10 is one of my favourites from CoS, along with Damien's descent into Hell. They are both psychologically entertaining. *purrs*

This chapter has the one meeting I was looking most forward to. I find it very interesting, the way teh Patriarch makes a clear distinction between Hunter and Prophet, while Damien always sees Gerald as a combination of both. Does that mean that the Patriarch is prone to categorize things as either good or evil, and the whole Calesta thing is making him realize those grey areas he has been trying really hard to avoid are finally catching up to him? Also, does he approach his "temptation" more like a sacrifice for the good of his Church. He certainly seems to, now and then again at the end, when he makes the final sacrifice in order to mess with the fae. (I am guessing Gerald was not entirely pleased with that one, at the time...)

So the Patriarch sacrifices himself by giving in to temptation. Does he see that as his own Fall, much like the Prophet had Fallen? Should he not be judged by the same principles he uses to judge Damien's use of the fae, even if it is employed in favour of the Church and by adhering to specific rules? Is he already damned, in his own mind?

One thing I am sure of. The Hunter somehow knew the Patriarch would in the end give in and take his offer. He knew, because he had probably found himself in a similar situation back in the day, faced with a disorganized Church he had to rebuild from scratch if he wanted to succeed in making his dream reality and create the One God.

Amoril betrays the Hunter, making a deal with the Unnamed, but neglects to read the fine print

Which should prove once and for all that Gerald must have been on something when he hired his left hand man. And honestly, Amoril, after all this time spent around the Hunter, you should have caught on several things... like how important it is to always read the fine print. Because, seriously? I don't like you much, but still think you got screwed on that deal.

The Mother was confusing at first, and her chapter read like it was not part of the book. BUT once I got closer to the ending (which was a few hours later), it all started making sense now. So, the Mother? She ROCKS! She's possibly the only sensible female character in this book, because Narilka is fun but has her WTF?! moments. Like in chapter 9...

Andrys is stupid and silly and therefore I shall say no more about him now. I am still considering abusing my mod/owner privileges by making a "100 reasons while Andrys is a *insert swearword of your choice here*" post. Does my co-mod approve of one? (Also, we need a post to discuss Church religion. Like, badly...)

[trobadora]

I find it very interesting, the way teh Patriarch makes a clear distinction between Hunter and Prophet, while Damien always sees Gerald as a combination of both.

Damien tried to keep them apart at first, but couldn't manage in the face of Gerald's reality. I'd like to see the Patriarch try! *g*

The sacrifice bit ... Damien sees his own corruption that way, too, sometimes - as a sacrifice he makes out of necessity, for the greater good. But somehow he never comes across as self-righteous and self-aggrandising when he does it, unlike the Patriarch. (Well, to me, at least.)

I find the Mother very fascinating, too, but somehow I could never really warm up to that whole part of the plot. It's intellectually intriguing, but it doesn't touch me, if that makes any sense?

I'm all for that "100 reasons" post on Andrys, btw. And if you'd like to start that post on Church religion, I'm sure no one would object! You're right, there's a lot to be discussed there.