Exile - Chapter 5
Jul. 10th, 2022 09:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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i_read_whatSo last time, Drizzt was suffering the effects of his solitude. It's actually decent character stuff, but well. I like the assholes better, so there we go.
So Dinin's our viewpoint character again. He's been summoned by his mom and he's not looking forward to it. It soon becomes clear though that this is a big family meeting, not a personal punishment thing, when he meets Maya and Vierna in the corridor.
No one's sure what it's about: Malice has been in with Briza and Shi'nayne (Si'Nafay) all day. And Dinin's pretty cynical about the whole deal. The girls take the opportunity to ask about the contact with Drizzt. And Vierna shows her hand a little.
“But what was he like?” Vierna asked, obviously intrigued by Drizzt’s ability to survive. Ever since the patrol had returned with the report that Drizzt was still alive, Vierna had secretly hoped that she would see her younger brother again. They had shared a father, so it was said, and Vierna held more sympathy for Drizzt than was wise, given Malice’s feelings for him.
Dinin is displeased, but more because of his own remembered humiliation. He says not to worry, if Malice sends her out next time, she'll see all she wishes to see of their brother. Then he storms into the room.
Which, well, it's the best move to make in a gratuitously femdom society, yeah?
“Your brother has forgotten how to knock,” Matron Malice said to Briza and Shi’nayne, who stood at her sides.
Rizzen, kneeling before the throne, looked up over his shoulder to see Dinin.
“I did not give you permission to lift your eyes!” Malice screamed at the patron. She pounded her fist on the arm of her great throne, and Rizzen fell down to his belly in fear. Malice’s next words carried the strength of a spell.
“Grovel!” she commanded, and Rizzen crawled to her feet. Malice extended her hand to the male, all the while looking straight at Dinin. The elderboy did not miss his mother’s point.
“Kiss,” she said to Rizzen, and he quickly began lavishing kisses onto her extended hand. “Stand,” Malice issued her third command.
Exhibit A. Poor Rizzen. And a nice little emphasis on class status. Dinin knows the whole display was directed toward him. But because he's Malice's son, not her lover, she's willing to abuse someone else in his place. (It's one of those things that Drizzt never really understood with regards to Zaknafein, I think, and I appreciate the revisit now.)
So now Malice gets to yell at her children. Both Dinin and Briza (who has magically restored fingers courtesy of Malice) are wisely silent. Maya boasts that she'll get him. Vierna stays quiet. Dinin and Briza take offense at Maya's bold words, and Dinin again shows the perks of his status:
“You speak boldly,” Dinin said to Maya. Immediately, Malice’s disbelieving grimace fell upon him in a harsh reminder that it was not his place to speak.
But Briza promptly completed Dinin’s thought. “Too boldly,” she growled. Malice’s gaze descended upon her on cue, but Briza was a high priestess in the favor of the Spider Queen and was well within her rights to speak. “You know nothing of our young brother,” Briza went on, speaking as much to Malice as to Maya.
One of my complaints about Drizzt is that he seems remarkably ignorant of his societal place for a man raised in Menzoberranzan. Oddly, I don't have that same complaint about Dinin. Part of that might just be hypocrisy. I think Dinin is interesting and Drizzt is annoying. But I also think Salvatore does a good job of showing us Dinin's overall general subservience, and Malice's general tolerance of his more irrepressible behavior, that it comes across more like Dinin's a favorite, used to his mother's indulgence.
Anyway, Malice asks Briza and Dinin point blank if they can defeat him. Briza flexes her fingers, and Dinin is forced into verbal honesty:
“I …” Dinin stuttered, then he lowered his eyes defensively. Malice had put a detection spell on his reply, Dinin realized. She would know if he tried to lie to her. “No,” he said flatly. “Even at the cost of your favor, Matron Mother, I do not wish to go out after Drizzt again.”
Smart guy. I don't blame him one bit. And Briza basically agrees. He gives us some more honesty:
“Your pardon, Matron Mother,” Dinin went on, trying desperately to heal any ill feelings he had stirred. “I have seen Drizzt in combat. He took me down too easily—as I believed that no foe ever could. He defeated Briza fairly, and I have never seen her beaten! I do not wish to hunt my brother again, for I fear that the result would only bring more anger to you and more trouble to House Do’Urden.”
“You are afraid?” Malice asked slyly.
Dinin nodded. “And I know that I would only disappoint you again, Matron Mother. In the tunnels that he names as home, Drizzt is beyond my skills. I cannot hope to outdo him.”
I feel like the Malice-Dinin relationship is a lot like a king with a favorite daughter. There's no illusion that Dinin will ever have any real power, but as mentioned above, she tolerates his occasional improprieties with reasonable good humor. It's interesting that Dinin is Rizzen's son. I almost feel like it'd make more sense if he were Zaknafein's, given the charged nature of the latter relationship. (It's also a little surprising that Rizzen's held his position as long as he has, given Malice's general disdain. But then maybe that is something Dinin inherited from his father: protective subservience?)
I do prefer Dinin as Rizzen's son if only because there are some unpleasant implications in the idea that every ambiguous character so far is descended from Zaknafein. Also, if Dinin were Zak's son, I feel like Zak would have tried to protect him too. But there's no sign of that.
Anyway, Malice is willing to accept cowardice from a male, but she's livid at Briza. And this is interesting too:
“Hear Dinin’s words, my matron,” Briza replied.
“Lolth is with you!” Shi’nayne shouted at her.
“But Drizzt is beyond the Spider Queen,” Briza snapped back. “I fear that Dinin speaks the truth—for all of us. We cannot catch Drizzt out there. The wilds of the Underdark are his domain, where we are only strangers.”
We've heard more than once that Briza has Lolth's favor. And that's going to come up again at the end of this book. What does that mean though?
I feel like Briza's being tested now. And she's failing. She may or may not succeed in killing Drizzt, but there's someone else who is out of Lolth's favor that she could deal with right now. And she's not doing it.
Vierna suggests Jarlaxle and his rogues as a solution, but Malice has apparently tried that in the past. Jarlaxle wasn't on board. Malice thinks that he's probably under the command of Matron Baenre, which might be true and interesting foreshadowing for a relationship reveal much later. (IS that public knowledge?)
I think it might also be simply that Jarlaxle isn't interested in hunting down a renegade male. I've always gotten the sense that Bregan D'arthe is like the gender swapped version of an Amazonian group, that protects and gives options to members of an oppressed gender.
Anyway, Dinin shows us why he stays in Malice's favor:
“If you command me to go, I shall,” Dinin spoke out. “I fear only that I will disappoint you, Matron Mother. I do not fear Drizzt’s blades, or death itself if it is in service to you.” Dinin had read his mother’s dark mood well enough to know that she had no intention of sending him back out after Drizzt, and he thought himself wise in being so generous when it didn’t cost him anything.
“I thank you, my son,” Malice beamed at him. Dinin had to hold his snicker when he noticed all three of his sisters glaring at him. “Now leave us,” Malice continued condescendingly, stealing Dinin’s moment. “We have business that does not concern a male.”
Dinin bowed low and swept toward the door. His sisters took note of how easily Malice had stolen the proud spring from his step.
“I will remember your words,” Malice said wryly, enjoying the power play and the silent applause. Dinin paused, his hand on the handle of the ornate door. “One day you will prove your loyalty to me, do not doubt.”
I definitely think we're seeing the same skillset that has allowed Rizzen to stay as a patron, with all the dubious perks that entails.
But in the end, Dinin can court his mother's favor all he wants. He's still a male drow. His situation will always be at least a little precarious. (It occurs to me that one thing that hasn't come up in these books is marriage alliances. It seems as though drow matrons just take their mates from their commoners, with little to no mixing between Houses. But I feel like that might be genetically unfeasible after a while. Perhaps they trade common soldiers for breeding purposes?)
Anyway, the women laugh as he rushes out, but he lived with only a little bit of humiliation after telling Malice no, repeatedly. So I'd give him points.
Rizzen on the other hand is still stuck in the room. And Malice is inclined to play:
On the floor, Rizzen found himself in quite a dangerous dilemma. Malice had sent Dinin away, saying in essence that males had no right to remain in the room. Yet Malice had not given Rizzen permission to move. He planted his feet and fingers against the stone, ready to spring away in an instant.
“Are you still here?” Malice shrieked at him. Rizzen bolted for the door.
“Hold!” Malice cried at him, her words once again empowered by a magical spell.
Rizzen stopped suddenly, against his better judgment and unable to resist the dweomer of Matron Malice’s spell.
“I did not give you permission to move!” Malice screamed behind him.
I'm definitely inclined to give Dinin a victory point for getting the fuck out when he could. This could have been him.
Anyway, Malice orders the girls to take him and drag him off to a dungeon cell. Both Briza and Shi'nayne realize that Malice isn't doing this (just) for fun, but rather has some kind of plan in mind.
And we'll be seeing what that is.
We shift scenes back to Dinin. There's an event at the chapel. Even the commoners (more than two hundred!) are milling about excitedly. There's no impending war or holy day (I'd like to know more about drow holidays), so everyone's curious.
Dinin's not involved with the ceremony and doesn't really know what's going on. He's acting as "chant leader", moving throughout the assembly and leading the commoners in their verses to the Spider Queen. He's been told that if there's a fuck up, he'll be killed. And more stress: Rizzen is nowhere to be found. Dinin suspects that Rizzen's reign, so to speak, is coming to an end. And well, Malice has given previous mates to Lolth.
Oh, hey, here's Rizzen: getting dragged in, drugged and sluggish, at Malice's orders. There's also a coffin. YAY. Dinin's a bit confused. He's used to the idea of sacrifice, but why a coffin?
Anyway, Malice leads the prayer to call one of Lolth's handmaidens. We saw one in Homeland, but here's a description:
The commoners gasped but continued their chanting as the pillar rolled through the colors of the spectrum, gradually cooling until the flames were no more. In their place stood a tentacled creature, taller than a drow elf and resembling a half-melted candle with elongated, drooping facial features. All the crowd recognized the being, though few commoners had ever actually seen one before, except perhaps in illustrations in the clerical books. All in attendance knew well enough the importance of this gathering at that moment, for no drow could possibly miss the significance of the presence of a yochlol, a personal handmaiden of Lolth.
It's a pretty big deal that Malice called her, given that she's out of favor. But Malice is nothing if not ambitious. She's asking for something called "Zin-carla", which is apparently a very bold request. The handmaiden is stunned. But Malice is persuasive.
And that's why the coffin is here:
An animated corpse crawled out of it and staggered over to Malice’s side. It was badly decomposed and many of its features had rotted away altogether, but Dinin and most of the others in the great chapel recognized it immediately: Zaknafein Do’Urden, the legendary weapon master.
Ooof. Nice. When Malice wants, she does have style. The man who fostered and inspired Drizzt's inconvenient ethics will now be his executioner.
So now, it's time for the sacrifice. And this...is pretty good, I have to admit. They shove poor Rizzen into position and Malice raises the dagger to strike...then...
A moment later, Malice’s chant neared completion and the dagger went up high. All the house tensed, awaiting the moment of ecstacy, the savage giving to the foul Spider Queen.
The dagger came down, but Malice turned it abruptly to the side and drove it instead into the heart of Shi’nayne, Matron SiNafay Hun’ett, her most hated rival.
“No!” gasped SiNafay, but the deed was done. Eight blade-legs grasped at her heart. SiNafay tried to speak, to cast a spell of healing on herself or a curse upon Malice, but only blood came out of her mouth. Gasping her last breaths, she fell forward over Rizzen.
All the house erupted in screams of shock and joy as Malice tore the dagger out from under SiNafay Hun’ett, and her enemy’s heart along with it.
Malice gets to sacrifice something far more valuable than a consort: a daughter. The fact that said daughter was actually an enemy foisted upon her? Win/win. And Lolth LIKES deviousness.
So they shove Rizzen and SiNafay out of the way, and drop Zak's corpse on the altar. Malice is reminded that she hasn't regained Lolth's favor. She's being given Zin-carla, but it's her last chance.
So then, for ten tendays/seventy cycles of Narbondel, (...wait, what the fuck kind of math are we doing here??? Is drow math in base seven???) everyone chants and prays in the chapel, while the clerics use their spells and salves. We get an explanation, finally, of what this means:
The animation of a corpse was a simple spell for a priestess, but Zin-carla went far beyond that feat. Spirit-wraith, the undead result would be called, a zombie imbued with the skills of its former life and controlled by the matron mother appointed by Lolth. It was the most precious of Lolth’s gifts, rarely asked for and even more rarely granted, for Zin-carla—returning the spirit to the body—was a risky practice indeed. Only through the sheer willpower of the enchanting priestess were the undead being’s desired skills kept separate from the unwanted memories and emotions. The edge of consciousness and control was a fine line to walk, even considering the mental discipline required of a high priestess. Furthermore, Lolth only granted Zin-carla for the completion of specific tasks, and stumbling from that fine line of discipline inevitably would result in failure.
The chapter ends by reminding us that Lolth is not merciful when it comes to failure.
So Dinin's our viewpoint character again. He's been summoned by his mom and he's not looking forward to it. It soon becomes clear though that this is a big family meeting, not a personal punishment thing, when he meets Maya and Vierna in the corridor.
No one's sure what it's about: Malice has been in with Briza and Shi'nayne (Si'Nafay) all day. And Dinin's pretty cynical about the whole deal. The girls take the opportunity to ask about the contact with Drizzt. And Vierna shows her hand a little.
“But what was he like?” Vierna asked, obviously intrigued by Drizzt’s ability to survive. Ever since the patrol had returned with the report that Drizzt was still alive, Vierna had secretly hoped that she would see her younger brother again. They had shared a father, so it was said, and Vierna held more sympathy for Drizzt than was wise, given Malice’s feelings for him.
Dinin is displeased, but more because of his own remembered humiliation. He says not to worry, if Malice sends her out next time, she'll see all she wishes to see of their brother. Then he storms into the room.
Which, well, it's the best move to make in a gratuitously femdom society, yeah?
“Your brother has forgotten how to knock,” Matron Malice said to Briza and Shi’nayne, who stood at her sides.
Rizzen, kneeling before the throne, looked up over his shoulder to see Dinin.
“I did not give you permission to lift your eyes!” Malice screamed at the patron. She pounded her fist on the arm of her great throne, and Rizzen fell down to his belly in fear. Malice’s next words carried the strength of a spell.
“Grovel!” she commanded, and Rizzen crawled to her feet. Malice extended her hand to the male, all the while looking straight at Dinin. The elderboy did not miss his mother’s point.
“Kiss,” she said to Rizzen, and he quickly began lavishing kisses onto her extended hand. “Stand,” Malice issued her third command.
Exhibit A. Poor Rizzen. And a nice little emphasis on class status. Dinin knows the whole display was directed toward him. But because he's Malice's son, not her lover, she's willing to abuse someone else in his place. (It's one of those things that Drizzt never really understood with regards to Zaknafein, I think, and I appreciate the revisit now.)
So now Malice gets to yell at her children. Both Dinin and Briza (who has magically restored fingers courtesy of Malice) are wisely silent. Maya boasts that she'll get him. Vierna stays quiet. Dinin and Briza take offense at Maya's bold words, and Dinin again shows the perks of his status:
“You speak boldly,” Dinin said to Maya. Immediately, Malice’s disbelieving grimace fell upon him in a harsh reminder that it was not his place to speak.
But Briza promptly completed Dinin’s thought. “Too boldly,” she growled. Malice’s gaze descended upon her on cue, but Briza was a high priestess in the favor of the Spider Queen and was well within her rights to speak. “You know nothing of our young brother,” Briza went on, speaking as much to Malice as to Maya.
One of my complaints about Drizzt is that he seems remarkably ignorant of his societal place for a man raised in Menzoberranzan. Oddly, I don't have that same complaint about Dinin. Part of that might just be hypocrisy. I think Dinin is interesting and Drizzt is annoying. But I also think Salvatore does a good job of showing us Dinin's overall general subservience, and Malice's general tolerance of his more irrepressible behavior, that it comes across more like Dinin's a favorite, used to his mother's indulgence.
Anyway, Malice asks Briza and Dinin point blank if they can defeat him. Briza flexes her fingers, and Dinin is forced into verbal honesty:
“I …” Dinin stuttered, then he lowered his eyes defensively. Malice had put a detection spell on his reply, Dinin realized. She would know if he tried to lie to her. “No,” he said flatly. “Even at the cost of your favor, Matron Mother, I do not wish to go out after Drizzt again.”
Smart guy. I don't blame him one bit. And Briza basically agrees. He gives us some more honesty:
“Your pardon, Matron Mother,” Dinin went on, trying desperately to heal any ill feelings he had stirred. “I have seen Drizzt in combat. He took me down too easily—as I believed that no foe ever could. He defeated Briza fairly, and I have never seen her beaten! I do not wish to hunt my brother again, for I fear that the result would only bring more anger to you and more trouble to House Do’Urden.”
“You are afraid?” Malice asked slyly.
Dinin nodded. “And I know that I would only disappoint you again, Matron Mother. In the tunnels that he names as home, Drizzt is beyond my skills. I cannot hope to outdo him.”
I feel like the Malice-Dinin relationship is a lot like a king with a favorite daughter. There's no illusion that Dinin will ever have any real power, but as mentioned above, she tolerates his occasional improprieties with reasonable good humor. It's interesting that Dinin is Rizzen's son. I almost feel like it'd make more sense if he were Zaknafein's, given the charged nature of the latter relationship. (It's also a little surprising that Rizzen's held his position as long as he has, given Malice's general disdain. But then maybe that is something Dinin inherited from his father: protective subservience?)
I do prefer Dinin as Rizzen's son if only because there are some unpleasant implications in the idea that every ambiguous character so far is descended from Zaknafein. Also, if Dinin were Zak's son, I feel like Zak would have tried to protect him too. But there's no sign of that.
Anyway, Malice is willing to accept cowardice from a male, but she's livid at Briza. And this is interesting too:
“Hear Dinin’s words, my matron,” Briza replied.
“Lolth is with you!” Shi’nayne shouted at her.
“But Drizzt is beyond the Spider Queen,” Briza snapped back. “I fear that Dinin speaks the truth—for all of us. We cannot catch Drizzt out there. The wilds of the Underdark are his domain, where we are only strangers.”
We've heard more than once that Briza has Lolth's favor. And that's going to come up again at the end of this book. What does that mean though?
I feel like Briza's being tested now. And she's failing. She may or may not succeed in killing Drizzt, but there's someone else who is out of Lolth's favor that she could deal with right now. And she's not doing it.
Vierna suggests Jarlaxle and his rogues as a solution, but Malice has apparently tried that in the past. Jarlaxle wasn't on board. Malice thinks that he's probably under the command of Matron Baenre, which might be true and interesting foreshadowing for a relationship reveal much later. (IS that public knowledge?)
I think it might also be simply that Jarlaxle isn't interested in hunting down a renegade male. I've always gotten the sense that Bregan D'arthe is like the gender swapped version of an Amazonian group, that protects and gives options to members of an oppressed gender.
Anyway, Dinin shows us why he stays in Malice's favor:
“If you command me to go, I shall,” Dinin spoke out. “I fear only that I will disappoint you, Matron Mother. I do not fear Drizzt’s blades, or death itself if it is in service to you.” Dinin had read his mother’s dark mood well enough to know that she had no intention of sending him back out after Drizzt, and he thought himself wise in being so generous when it didn’t cost him anything.
“I thank you, my son,” Malice beamed at him. Dinin had to hold his snicker when he noticed all three of his sisters glaring at him. “Now leave us,” Malice continued condescendingly, stealing Dinin’s moment. “We have business that does not concern a male.”
Dinin bowed low and swept toward the door. His sisters took note of how easily Malice had stolen the proud spring from his step.
“I will remember your words,” Malice said wryly, enjoying the power play and the silent applause. Dinin paused, his hand on the handle of the ornate door. “One day you will prove your loyalty to me, do not doubt.”
I definitely think we're seeing the same skillset that has allowed Rizzen to stay as a patron, with all the dubious perks that entails.
But in the end, Dinin can court his mother's favor all he wants. He's still a male drow. His situation will always be at least a little precarious. (It occurs to me that one thing that hasn't come up in these books is marriage alliances. It seems as though drow matrons just take their mates from their commoners, with little to no mixing between Houses. But I feel like that might be genetically unfeasible after a while. Perhaps they trade common soldiers for breeding purposes?)
Anyway, the women laugh as he rushes out, but he lived with only a little bit of humiliation after telling Malice no, repeatedly. So I'd give him points.
Rizzen on the other hand is still stuck in the room. And Malice is inclined to play:
On the floor, Rizzen found himself in quite a dangerous dilemma. Malice had sent Dinin away, saying in essence that males had no right to remain in the room. Yet Malice had not given Rizzen permission to move. He planted his feet and fingers against the stone, ready to spring away in an instant.
“Are you still here?” Malice shrieked at him. Rizzen bolted for the door.
“Hold!” Malice cried at him, her words once again empowered by a magical spell.
Rizzen stopped suddenly, against his better judgment and unable to resist the dweomer of Matron Malice’s spell.
“I did not give you permission to move!” Malice screamed behind him.
I'm definitely inclined to give Dinin a victory point for getting the fuck out when he could. This could have been him.
Anyway, Malice orders the girls to take him and drag him off to a dungeon cell. Both Briza and Shi'nayne realize that Malice isn't doing this (just) for fun, but rather has some kind of plan in mind.
And we'll be seeing what that is.
We shift scenes back to Dinin. There's an event at the chapel. Even the commoners (more than two hundred!) are milling about excitedly. There's no impending war or holy day (I'd like to know more about drow holidays), so everyone's curious.
Dinin's not involved with the ceremony and doesn't really know what's going on. He's acting as "chant leader", moving throughout the assembly and leading the commoners in their verses to the Spider Queen. He's been told that if there's a fuck up, he'll be killed. And more stress: Rizzen is nowhere to be found. Dinin suspects that Rizzen's reign, so to speak, is coming to an end. And well, Malice has given previous mates to Lolth.
Oh, hey, here's Rizzen: getting dragged in, drugged and sluggish, at Malice's orders. There's also a coffin. YAY. Dinin's a bit confused. He's used to the idea of sacrifice, but why a coffin?
Anyway, Malice leads the prayer to call one of Lolth's handmaidens. We saw one in Homeland, but here's a description:
The commoners gasped but continued their chanting as the pillar rolled through the colors of the spectrum, gradually cooling until the flames were no more. In their place stood a tentacled creature, taller than a drow elf and resembling a half-melted candle with elongated, drooping facial features. All the crowd recognized the being, though few commoners had ever actually seen one before, except perhaps in illustrations in the clerical books. All in attendance knew well enough the importance of this gathering at that moment, for no drow could possibly miss the significance of the presence of a yochlol, a personal handmaiden of Lolth.
It's a pretty big deal that Malice called her, given that she's out of favor. But Malice is nothing if not ambitious. She's asking for something called "Zin-carla", which is apparently a very bold request. The handmaiden is stunned. But Malice is persuasive.
And that's why the coffin is here:
An animated corpse crawled out of it and staggered over to Malice’s side. It was badly decomposed and many of its features had rotted away altogether, but Dinin and most of the others in the great chapel recognized it immediately: Zaknafein Do’Urden, the legendary weapon master.
Ooof. Nice. When Malice wants, she does have style. The man who fostered and inspired Drizzt's inconvenient ethics will now be his executioner.
So now, it's time for the sacrifice. And this...is pretty good, I have to admit. They shove poor Rizzen into position and Malice raises the dagger to strike...then...
A moment later, Malice’s chant neared completion and the dagger went up high. All the house tensed, awaiting the moment of ecstacy, the savage giving to the foul Spider Queen.
The dagger came down, but Malice turned it abruptly to the side and drove it instead into the heart of Shi’nayne, Matron SiNafay Hun’ett, her most hated rival.
“No!” gasped SiNafay, but the deed was done. Eight blade-legs grasped at her heart. SiNafay tried to speak, to cast a spell of healing on herself or a curse upon Malice, but only blood came out of her mouth. Gasping her last breaths, she fell forward over Rizzen.
All the house erupted in screams of shock and joy as Malice tore the dagger out from under SiNafay Hun’ett, and her enemy’s heart along with it.
Malice gets to sacrifice something far more valuable than a consort: a daughter. The fact that said daughter was actually an enemy foisted upon her? Win/win. And Lolth LIKES deviousness.
So they shove Rizzen and SiNafay out of the way, and drop Zak's corpse on the altar. Malice is reminded that she hasn't regained Lolth's favor. She's being given Zin-carla, but it's her last chance.
So then, for ten tendays/seventy cycles of Narbondel, (...wait, what the fuck kind of math are we doing here??? Is drow math in base seven???) everyone chants and prays in the chapel, while the clerics use their spells and salves. We get an explanation, finally, of what this means:
The animation of a corpse was a simple spell for a priestess, but Zin-carla went far beyond that feat. Spirit-wraith, the undead result would be called, a zombie imbued with the skills of its former life and controlled by the matron mother appointed by Lolth. It was the most precious of Lolth’s gifts, rarely asked for and even more rarely granted, for Zin-carla—returning the spirit to the body—was a risky practice indeed. Only through the sheer willpower of the enchanting priestess were the undead being’s desired skills kept separate from the unwanted memories and emotions. The edge of consciousness and control was a fine line to walk, even considering the mental discipline required of a high priestess. Furthermore, Lolth only granted Zin-carla for the completion of specific tasks, and stumbling from that fine line of discipline inevitably would result in failure.
The chapter ends by reminding us that Lolth is not merciful when it comes to failure.
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Date: 2022-07-10 06:45 pm (UTC)But yeah, once the climax of this book happens, Drizzt is going to need so much damn therapy.
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Date: 2022-07-10 09:37 pm (UTC)I think there's a fair bit of build up though before we get to the climactic confrontation.
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Date: 2022-07-11 04:31 pm (UTC)= Multi-Facets.
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Date: 2022-07-11 04:59 pm (UTC)Crystal Shard has its weak points sure, but have you ever tried to read the first Kelemvor/Cyric/Midnight book? E-fucking-gads. (That said, Troy Dennings's Crucible: the Trial of Cyric the Mad is fucking amazing. So it's actually worth pushing through that series.)
The graduation in Homeland was also pretty horrific, to the point of serious tonal dissonance with the rest of the book. But not bad.
Honestly, I think Salvatore's best work was that trilogy with Entreri and Jarlaxle. He does surprisingly well with morally ambiguous types (I also really liked what he was doing with -spoiler character- in the excerpts I saw of the most recent series.) Oddly, I think his talent is in writing moral complexity. It's the paragons of virtue, like Drizzt or Cadderly, that drag him down.