Track of the White Wolf - Part 2 - Chapter 5

[kalinara]

So last time, Donal was a dick. I know that's not really new, but it's worth highlighting, nonetheless.



I swear to god, my cut text is true. She did forget her own story. Because at this point in time, everyone's scrambling together for a wedding.

WHICH ALREADY HAPPENED. That was the POINT of the proxy wedding they had with Lillith! Niall and Rowan both appeared to believe that was an actual binding ceremony and that breaking it would create a huge issue!

Now, all of a sudden, it's not enough?

And I mean, it doesn't NOT make sense. I can buy that the pressure of Carillon's bastard, Strahan and so on, are making Donal and company more desperate for legitimacy. But I guess I just feel like SOMEONE should at least be saying "didn't we already do this?"

Aislinn particularly doesn't think the proxy wedding is binding, I guess:

I nodded absently, bending to adjust the droop of my amber-dyed boots.

“Niall, do you understand what I am saying? You do not have to go through with this.”

Sighing, I straightened. In yellow, she was lovely. It made her gold-netted hair more vivid than ever. “I have said it before: I have every intention of marrying Gisella.”

“Why?” she demanded. “That erratic, addled girl is a poor choice for Donal’s heir!”

“And for Carillon’s grandson?” I turned from her and paced to my jewel chest, studying the remaining contents idly. I approved Torvald’s choices, but it gave me something to do. “We were cradle-betrothed, mother. Such a thing is not broken lightly, even if I wished to have it broken. And I do not.” I picked through the brooches, wristlets, rings, then turned to face her. “She is mad. Aye. I will not deny it. But it does not mean she cannot be my wife.”

“She will be queen.”

“One day,” I agreed. “By then, perhaps she will be better.”

See, no mention of an already binding proxy wedding at all. (A few paragraphs previously, Niall mentions Torvald laying out silks, velvets and Cheysuli ornamentation for the wedding, without any reference to the fact that Niall has already dressed for a wedding in the past.)

This reminds me a bit of Shapechangers, where I felt like Finn and Alix being siblings was something added toward the end, so that we could have an emotionally satisfying confrontation with Shaine and a direct victim but Roberson never bothered to change most of the book to fit that fact. So we had an entire segment of the book in which the threat of marrying Alix off to her half-brother was a real thing, without anyone even bothering to say "hey, wait, this is incest?"

Here, I feel like the story was written with Niall and Gisella being betrothed only, but Roberson decided to include the proxy wedding after the fact. Maybe she felt like betrothal wasn't enough of a reason for Niall to refuse Deirdre. Or maybe she just wanted to seed Lillith being creepy to Ian to foreshadow her rape of him?

It's annoying though. And White Wolf has been a good enough book that I'm a little annoyed at her editors for not saying anything about it.

Aislinn is smarter than Donal though, and she picks up that Niall's a different person than he was when he left. She asks if he truly loves her, and his answer is...ambiguous.

“I think, as much as I am able.” I shrugged. “I say that because you ask. My father would know better, being Cheysuli. So perhaps it is that the Homanan portion of me loves her, while what little Cheysuli is in me will not admit the feeling.”

So now I'm pretty sure that Gisella's mind control is still in place. Because Niall does know what love is like. We saw that with Deirdre. This dispassion is not in his character. Aislinn says that if Niall isn't completely on board with the match, she'll have it broken.

Niall doesn't want to give Alaric cause to march against Homana. Actually this IS interesting:

“And give Alaric cause to march against Homana?” I shook my head. “You are Queen, and undoubtedly you have the power to sway most if not all of the Homanan Council…but I doubt you would sway my father. I doubt you would sway the Cheysuli.”

We don't get to see Aislinn actually act as queen. But it seems reasonable to think she held the throne during those months that Donal spent faffing around after Carillon's death (and his kidnapping). We'd never heard about a regent after all.

It's a missed opportunity, because until this point, we've never had a queen actually capable of reigning in her own right. Shaine clearly wasn't letting Lorsilla do much of anything. Electra's an attempted regicide. But Aislinn is both clever and educated. And, you know, it'd make the concerns about Gisella being queen of Homana have more weight if there were things that a queen is supposed to do.

That said, given the Cheysuli attitude toward disability in general, I'm not sure Aislinn will have much trouble there anyway.

Oh, THANK YOU AISLINN:

Her hand tightened. “I know there is the prophecy! How could I not, being wife and mother to men fully caught in its demands? But it does not name Gisella! It does not say she is the one you must wed, merely that you must wed to gain another bloodline. What of Erinn, Niall? Shaine himself wed an Erinnish princess before he wed Lorsilla. Save the Atvian line until later…the Erinnish might serve as well. We could speak with Shea.”

Fucking yes! You are forgiven all of your terrible past choices for being the one person to actually say this! (Also, Deirdre is half Atvian! Aislinn doesn't know that, but I do!)

But...there's a problem with that:

Quite suddenly, I felt ill. A hasty swallow steadied my belly again, but I could feel it threatening, waiting.

A beacon-fire on the cliff.

And I had lighted the fire.

“Niall?” A hand, tugging gently at my arm. “Niall?”

All I could see was the fire in my eyes, and the blackness of the night as I stood upon the top of the dragon’s skull.

“Niall!”

The vision faded, but it left me with the bitter taste of guilt. An immense, abiding guilt, made worse because I could not say why I should feel guilty.

Okay, so, at the risk of spoiling a twist down the line, I wonder if it occurs to Niall or Ian that given the months-long voyage from Atvia to Homana, the fate of the Erinnish royal family ought to be well known by now.

Niall finally just says he wants to marry Gisella. And Ian, lovely Ian, appears to back him up.

“And so you shall.” Ian’s voice; he stood in the doorway, ablaze with Cheysuli gold: his lir-bands were whole again, unblemished by Alaric’s hand. His leathers were pure, unsullied white edged with scarlet silk. “Everyone waits below.”

He's looking good. Maybe the cleansing ceremony helped?

So now, the marriage. We get a mention of the proxy wedding when we hear that the priest said the same words again. The shar tahl, who'd come from Clankeep, does too: saying the same sentiment in the Old Tongue. Niall understands it, but Gisella doesn't. He thinks she looks left out, even though she's trying to listen closely. Niall feels like it makes their bond stronger: he's left out of the magic, she's left out of the language.

Niall, that's not really the same thing. I appreciate that your disassociation with your culture is a very difficult thing for you, especially given the reaction of some of the Cheysuli. But Gisella's never had any of this. Because Donal was a dick who sent Bronwyn away without any attendants or liege-people or anything like that.

There is an interesting power play at work though: Donal and Aislinn go to the celebration room while those who wish to give the Prince and Princess a formal greeting stay behind and do so. Niall realizes that this is to give him the opportunity to see exactly which Homanans choose not to.

I mean, I guess. But that seems awfully unsophisticated. Niall's still the Prince after all. What Homanan noble is stupid enough to openly snub the Prince of the kingdom, even IF he's supporting Carillon's bastard in secret? And it's useless anyway, because enough folks stay that Niall doesn't even bother to keep track.

But on the plus side, Isolde and Ceinn are there! And they're married! And their dynamic is interesting:

“Aye,” she answered. “About a sixth-month after you and Ian sailed for Atvia.” One hand went out to briefly touch Ceinn’s hand; for a Cheysuli, a broad display of emotion. But I saw nothing in his eyes that indicated he wished she had not done it.

Does he truly care for her? Or is she so valuable to his cause he will let her do as she wishes?

I mean, Ceinn's already a better husband than Duncan ever was. Not that that's saying much. But the timing is interesting. Six months into the voyage, Niall would have been in captivity. And Ian was presumed dead.

We haven't gotten to know Isolde much over the course of the book so far, but this is a chance to make up for that, at least a little:

’Solde slanted a sidelong glance at Gisella, who was staring blankly into the emptied hall. “Is she—all right?”

I turned. “Gisella,” I said. Then, more forcefully, “Gisella!”

Her black hair had been braided Cheysuli fashion and looped against her head, pinned with silver combs hung about with tiny silver bells. As I called her name, she started, and all the bells rang out.

’Solde, never one for hanging back, reached out and caught Gisella’s hand. “I am Niall’s rujholla” she said, “so now I am yours as well.”

Aw. Isolde is pretty great too. I wonder how Ian and Isolde turned out so well, given that their mother was a one-note cartoon character and their father was Donal.

Actually, that's an interesting question. Donal had brought the children back to the palace upon Sorcha's death. But was he actively involved in raising them? It doesn't sound like Aislinn ever really took a step-mother role with either child. And Isolde was an infant, she wouldn't remember her mother at all. Who was the primary caretaker of the children?

And OH.

“Rujholla?” Gisella echoed.

’Solde frowned only briefly. And then she laughed. “I forget. You have been reared in Atvia, so why should you know our language? It is only that you look more Cheysuli than anything else, and so I expect you to know the customs as well as the language.” She glanced at me and laughed. “Niall will teach you everything, I am sure.”

“Isolde is my sister,” I told Gisella. “Rujholla, in the Old Tongue.”

“Niall’s sister?” Gisella stared at her. “Oh, of course, my father told me. You are the Mujhar’s bastard daughter.”

All the gaiety died out of ’Solde. White-faced, she stared blindly at Gisella. Then, abruptly, she let go of Gisella’s hand at once and turned to leave the nearly empty hall.

a) I love how patient and non-judgmental Isolde is. I think I'd love to see a story that's just about Niall, Ian and Isolde, because I love them unironically.

b) Ouch though. And it touches on something we saw with Ian before. In Niall's eyes, Ian and Isolde are lucky. They're Cheysuli. They look Cheysuli, they act Cheysuli, they have the powers and the acceptance. But Donal brought them back to the castle. They're raised Homanan too. And while, in Cheysuli culture, cheysula and meijha supposedly have equal importance (they don't but who's counting), and legitimacy isn't a thing (I actually do believe this part), that's not true for Homanans.

But now we've seen both Ian and Isolde flinch when their legitimacy is brought up. And it makes me wonder how much Niall hasn't seen. Isolde has chosen to live the life of a Cheysuli woman at the Keep. Ian is at the castle still, but in the role of Cheysuli liegeman. Neither seems willing to claim any sort of right or status based on being children of the King.

This will be interesting to revisit in later books, where we see another generation with both legitimate and illegitimate children of the King. Things will be different there, but maybe a little bit the same too.

Anyway, Niall runs after Isolde to apologize for his wife. He insists that she's tired, she doesn't understand. And Isolde and Ceinn's reactions promise future issues:

’Solde’s arm was rigid beneath my delaying fingers. “I understand,” she said clearly. “I understand very well, Niall. I should have expected it.” I had anticipated anger from her, and harsh words—’Solde is not a silent sort—but not the magnitude of her pain. She shrugged. “She was reared by the enemy.”

“Gods, ’Solde, do not judge her so harshly. You do not understand.”

Suddenly, Ceinn was at my side. “She understands as well as I do, my lord.” His pupils had shrunk so that I saw mostly yellow, an intense, intent yellow. “Forgive my plain speech, my lord, but you have worsened your position with the clans by taking Gisella as your cheysula.”

It's interesting that Ceinn thinks he's in a position to speak for the clans. It's also kind of tragically ironic that Niall chose Gisella over Deirdre, in part, because her Cheysuli heritage made up for his lack.

But then, Ceinn has his own political position. He points out that Gisella is Atvian too. And then things get very tense.

“Atvian, aye.” I was through with diplomacy. “And necessary to the prophecy.” I caught his arm as he reached out to turn Isolde away, as if he intended to leave my presence and take my sister with him. “No,” I told him plainly, “I am not finished with you.”

His bare arm slid out of my grasping fingers as he jerked it sharply away. My nails scraped across the bear-shape worked into the gold of his lir-band. “Finished with me?” he echoed, though he knew precisely what I had said. “Oh, no, my lord. I think we are finished with you.”

And Ceinn fucked up. Because Niall DID grow up a little bit. And for ONCE, FOR ONCE, someone mouths off at royalty and actually gets some fucking consequences.

“I think the time has come for plain speech.” Somehow I managed to summon an even tone, though I wanted to shout at him. “Well enough, hear what I have to say.” I moved a step closer to him and was pleased to see that this time, he fell back a single step. “I am fully aware of the existence of the a’saii, and the preferences for my replacement in the line of succession. But I challenge you to tell me how that would serve the prophecy you claim to know better than other warriors.” I made a beckoning gesture. “Well? I wait.”

Isolde is taken aback, but Ceinn ends up rising to the provocation.

“Other realms, aye,” he agreed. “I do not contest the need for the blood of other realms; it can only strengthen us. But I do contest your absolute lirlessness, your lack of Cheysuli gifts, your lack of Cheysuli customs.” He drew in a breath made uneven by the intensity of his anger; by the depth of fanaticism. “There are so few of us left now, those with untainted blood, and if it were possible I would prefer one of the a’saii to take the Lion on Donal’s death. But we are not so blind as to turn our backs on a warrior who has more right than most—”

“—that warrior being Ian,” I finished. I thrust out a hand and pointed at Gisella, still huddled in her chair. “In her body lies the seed of that prophecy, Ceinn—a child born of Homana, Solinde, Atvia and the Cheysuli. How can you tell me that child should be replaced?”

“Because it should be. And will be.” He reached out and caught Isolde’s elbow. “Come, ’Solde. My business with him is finished. Let us go to the other hall.”

I wonder how many Cheysuli there ARE with "pure blood". I mean, this is a book series in which we were told that the Cheysuli shored up their numbers through the rape of Homanan women. But we've seen the seed of this idea through Sorcha. Her hatred of her own heritage. It does make some sense that we'd see this extremism brought through another generation.

But hey, ISOLDE actually has an opinion here too. She pulls away from him and points out that Ian would never overthrow Niall. He's sworn to Niall, and wouldn't break that.

Ceinn just says that if Ian won't, they'll find another with similar heritage. You know, he says to his wife, who happens to be their sister:

“Similar heritage—” Isolde fell back a step. Then she stood very still. “Would identical be better?” she inquired bitterly. “Augmented by yours, no doubt…do you think a child from us would do?” Isolde smiled, but it was the smile of a predator. “My jehan is likely to live for at least another twenty years, perhaps more. By then, no doubt a son of ours would be old enough to accept the Lion. Is that it? Is that it, Ceinn?”

Ooof, hey dude. Your wife is a human being with her own emotions and perspective. Funny how you forgot that. She demands an answer, and Ceinn admits that yes, he wants their son to rule.

And Isolde...is fucking awesome.

“Well,” she said, and I was amazed at her self-possession, “I think there will be no son.”

Isolde hasn't been in this book much, but one of Roberson's talents as a writer is doing a lot with just a little. Like Tourmaline, we're getting a LOT in one or two scenes. There is no doubt in my mind that Isolde, like Ian, truly loves her little brother.

“No.” She did not shout it, scream it, cry it. She merely said it; I saw my father in my sister. “No.” She pulled the bear-torque from her throat and dropped it to the stone at Ceinn’s feet. “No.”

So she leaves. Ceinn is enraged and ugh.

“Ku’reshtin!” he swore. “Do you think I only wanted her for the child? I wanted her—still want her—for herself!”

I laughed aloud. “Then tell me you love her, Cheysuli. Say the Homanan words to me, since there are none of the Old Tongue.”

As I released his arm, Ceinn bent and scooped up the gleaming lir-torque, the mark of Cheysuli marriage. When he faced me again, I saw how tightly he clutched the torque; how tightly he clenched his jaw. But in clear, fluent Homanan, lacking Cheysuli accent or hesitation, he told me he loved my sister.

I had no answer for him. And he had none for me.

Oh gee, Ceinn, maybe, if you really wanted to keep your wife, you wouldn't be openly talking about overthrowing her brother! And I'm annoyed that Niall seems to be affected by this. NO. THIS IS BULLSHIT.

This book has been doing SO WELL with showing us characters who are actually decent people, who treat people decently. Niall is a good man to both Deirdre and Gisella. (Well, the parts of him that appear to be in his right mind anyway.) Ian doesn't have a romantic interest, but we've seen that he is civil to Gisella, despite not liking her.

We are NOT going back to that time where a man can be an utter dick to a woman, but it's fine because he really loves her.

Because Ceinn IS being a dick to Isolde here. Isolde loves her brothers. Isolde does not want to be part of any kind of plot to overthrow her brothers. And the fact that Ceinn is perfectly willing to use her as a vessel to create a rival candidate means that he does not have any respect for her.

Fuck it. We've FINALLY got a woman who is treated badly in this series, recognizes it, and FUCKING LEAVES.

Isolde is MVP. Everyone else can fucking eat it.

So the chapter finishes with some introspection from Niall. It doesn't completely make sense, but there you go.

I watched the proud, angry warrior stride away from me, going after Isolde. And I began to think he was more of an enemy than at first I had believed. Because a man, so dedicated to a certain thing that there is no room for anything other than zealotry in his life, does not consider how or why he slays. But a man who loves, a man able to express that love, will think of what he does even as he does it, because he has something—someone—he believes is worth the thing he does. Even if it is assassination.

This is nonsense. Ceinn IS more dangerous now, but not because of any bullshit about love. Ceinn is dangerous because it's now clear that his ambition isn't just extremist racism. He wants power. He wants HIS SON on the throne. He wants to be father of a king.

But I like the last bit:

“Niall?” It was Gisella, at my side. “Niall…can we go see the dancing?”

I did not want to go. “You look weary,” I told her truthfully. “It might be better if you went to bed instead.”

“I want to see the dancing.”

And so I took her to see the dancing.

...was she there the whole time?

So the chapter ends here.