Renegades of Pern - Chapter Thirteen

[kalinara]

This review is a little late. Honestly, it's been a real struggle to motivate myself to do it.

Even with all its flaws, it's not the worst book I've read. (Hi, Shapechangers!), but it is maybe the most frustrating. It's lost potential all around.

Still, I have no intention of abandoning the book. And who knows, maybe it'll get interesting again, now that we've reached the end of White Dragon. We can always hope.



Oh, this looks somewhat promising. Two days after Jaxom rescued Sharra, Piemur finally finds the opportunity to tell Robinton about Jayge and Ara. You know, I COULD wish we got to see Aramina decide on a nickname that we've never heard anyone use for her at any point before her meeting with Piemur. But...that's a dead horse. I will try not to beat it.

Robinton manages to annoy me here, and I can't tell if I'm justified or it's a bit of "Bitch eating crackers":

‘Another ancient settlement? Restored and lived in?’ Astonished, Master Robinton leaned back in his great chair. Zair, asleep on his desk in the sun, woke up, blinking. ‘Bring me the relevant map.’ He tossed Piemur the key that unlocked the drawer in which his secret documents were kept. Masterscrivener Arnor had had his most discreet and accurate journeyman make three copies of all the maps found on the walls of the ‘flying ship,’ after which access to the ship had been restricted to Master Fandarel’s most trusted Mastersmiths. ‘How kind of you, Piemur, to save something to amuse me just when it was beginning to be humdrum again,’ Robinton went on.

This actually should be a really fucking big deal, you tool. This is a WORKING, INTACT settlement. The one you found was buried and abandoned. This one is actually livable. I know we're not supposed to acknowledge when anyone upstages Jaxom, but this fucking upstages Jaxom!

We also learn Piemur's tragic fate:

After Piemur had shown him the location of Paradise River, the Harper pored over the map a long time, murmuring to himself and occasionally grimacing. Well accustomed to his Master’s ways, Piemur filled Robinton’s goblet with wine and put it by his right hand. Piemur had been officially reassigned by the new Masterharper Sebell as journeyman to Cove Hold. He did not bother asking the new Masterharper if Toric had refused to have him back, or if Master Robinton had specifically requested him. What mattered to Piemur was that he was back with Master Robinton where, despite the old man’s wistful complaints, things were never dull — especially since, having been given a clean bill of health by Master Oldive, the Harper had great plans for further exploration.

...so um, is Toric's part of the story done now? I mean, he didn't have much beyond repetition anyway, but still, he IS one of the more interesting personalities we've got.

Also, it really does sadden me that Piemur has no idea that Toric actually valued him quite a lot. We've been in the guy's head. And now Piemur's gone from the dude who actually respected him, to fucking Robinton. Piemur deserves better.

Oh, but Robinton has plans...

‘A vast and marvelous land, Piemur,’ Robinton said, taking a sip of his wine. ‘And when one thinks of the plight of the holdless in Igen low caverns, those terrible rock cells in Tillek and High Reaches…’ He sighed. ‘I think—’ He broke off with a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘I let them talk me into retiring too soon is what I think.’

...what kept you from doing anything about these situations while you were Masterharper again?

Also, one thing I notice no mention of, is fucking Harper Hall, teaching new generations of Harpers, or any of that nonsense that probably ought to have been in your job description?

You COULD pass some ideas on to Sebell, you know.

Piemur's probably correct though when he points out that Robinton's no more retired than he is. He's just got a new way to make mischief. Let Sebell deal with the Holders, Craftmasters, and Weyrleaders. (And the Hall?)

He does ask about the mounds - he'd thought Robinton liked delving there. But Robinton apparently doesn't see the point. He doesn't want to see their waste, he wants to see how they lived.

I'm rolling my eyes at this because that's the point of studying the waste. Real archeologists LIKE waste, damnit. But also, I'm a little amused at how the book tried to tell us that Jaxom's discovery was more important than Jayge and Aramina's. Clearly, Robinton disagrees.

As for Robinton himself, he does intend to stay in Cove Hold rather than disrupt things in the North. And if the Weyrleaders or Lord Holders come to ask his opinion: <>"—I would remind them of the long-standing tradition of autonomy: Hall, Hold, and Weyr their own masters except when the safety of our world is at stake.’

Eh, probably about as good as we're going to get. For whatever reason, McCaffrey adores this guy. He's not going anywhere.

Hmm, I think maybe Toric might be drifting toward the adversarial side again, because we get this nonsense:

‘Does “necessity” decide who gets to hold what where?’ Piemur asked acerbically. Privately he felt that Toric had been granted far too much by the Benden Weyrleaders, even if, at that time, Lessa had also been bargaining for Jaxom’s happiness with Sharra. He had the feeling that Master Robinton agreed with him on that score.

Piemur spend most of this book being fairly pro-Toric. NOW, he thinks the guy was granted too much?

I suppose I could understand, if Piemur gave us an example of exactly what Toric was granted that he didn't have already.

So anyway, Lessa's apparently assigned "old P'ratan" to the Hold, so Robinton has his own fucking taxi service. Hmph.

Yes, I'm irrational. I hate that dude. And I don't really understand how this suddenly turned into his story. It's better than rehashing White Dragon, but still.

Okay anyway, we get back to Jayge and Aramina. We actually get Jayge's point of view. It's nice, we haven't gotten that since he rescued Aramina, some YEARS before. (And we never got Aramina's at all!).

Jayge is fishing when he spots the dragon. It gives him anxiety and he starts racing back to shore in hopes of getting back before it gets there.

He's hoping Aramina is asleep right now. Because, well, that trauma that McCaffrey never bothered to include in this book. I actually kind of like this, because of course, Piemur has no idea that Jayge and Aramina are trying to hide from the dragons.

(I just wish we understood WHY they were - sorry, sorry, I promised I'd try to be less repetitive.)

The dragon, by the way, is an old green. And I am genuinely surprised by this. I would have thought McCaffrey would never deign to put her precious Robinton on anything less than a bronze. But she did. Good for her.

Piemur hops off to greet Jayge happily, saying that everything will be alright for him and Ara.

Meanwhile, to prove him wrong, Ara collapses in a dead faint. Because of course she does.

Readis, by the way, is crying. Until Robinton makes face at him, making him too fascinated to howl. Because of course, he's good at children. Except when he has to teach them.

So Ara, freaked out, wakes up. Jayge is quick to fill her in. Namely the dragon brought Piemur and Robinton, and they're going to be able to keep their Hold.

Aramina however is having her own issue:

‘Ara, it’s all right,’ Jayge reassured her, stroking her hair and patting her fingers where they clutched frantically at his vest.

‘Jayge,’ she said in a low, constricted voice. ‘I didn’t hear her!’

‘You didn’t?’ Jayge thought to keep his voice low. ‘You didn’t?’ he repeated with more confidence. ‘Then why did you faint?’

‘Because I didn’t!’ In that pained reply, Aramina managed to convey her conflicting emotions to Jayge.

Okay, so this is an interesting event that would be far more interesting if we ever actually SAW Aramina deal with her abilities. And it's really hard not to be resentful at this point.

The problem is, this chapter is a vast improvement to the last god knows how many. It's actually, dare I say it, pretty good. I hate Robinton, and I will never not make potshots at him, but his role here makes sense. Piemur is well meaning and likeable, if clumsy due to not having all the information. Jayge and Aramina are characters that I'd grown to care about. (Or at least, I care about Jayge and the IDEA of Aramina.)

We're dealing with new stuff now. Not rehash. And Aramina's got an interesting new problem.

It's just that, unfortunately, we did have the last god knows how many chapters. And with the time skip, I have very little investment in these events anymore. And I'm mad at the wasted potential. This could have been a really good story.

Oh, and just to drive home how sloppy this book is:

‘Here! This’ll help,’ Piemur said, again offering the cup of fermented drink. ‘Believe me, Aramina, I know how it can be when you don’t see anyone else for Turns and suddenly you’ve got callers.’

No you fucking don't. McCaffrey retconned that away. You were in the Southern Hold when Jaxom was already recovering in Cove Hold. Your voyage wasn't years after all. (Or Jaxom is THAT much of a shiftless layabout, but as much as I hate him, that seems unfair.)

This also gets a little weird, because when Jayge is shocked to hear his wife's full name, Robinton explains:

‘I recognized you from a sketch that was circulated after your disappearance,’ the Masterharper explained kindly. He was jouncing Readis on his knee, and the toddler was gurgling with delight.

‘My dear child,’ he went on when Aramina had recovered sufficiently. ‘It will be the best of all possible news that you are alive and so well, here in this fine Southern Hold. We all thought you dead at the marauders’ hands.’ There was a hint of rebuke in the glance he gave Jayge but none in his voice for Aramina. ‘I’ve had more surprises these past few weeks than ever in my lifetime. It’s going to take me Turns to absorb it all.’

Okay, so one sec.

1) How does PIEMUR know her name? Robinton wouldn't have seen and recognized them until they got to the Hold. And Jayge is there, and would have heard him explain. (The easy solution would have been to have Aramina as the viewpoint character and have her express shock instead.)

2) Who made this sketch? When? The only sketches we know about where from that dude who infiltrated the Marauders. I suppose it's plausible that someone from Benden Hold did it. But how many sketch artists are there in Pern? They barely have paper!

Piemur explains that Robinton is interested in ancient ruins, and theirs has more to offer than the ones on the Plateau. I...almost feel bad for Jaxom that his discovery is IMMEDIATELY outclassed. But well, Jaxom is the Worst. So meh.

But also, I kind of feel like McCaffrey doesn't know about how items degrade, because Robinton comments on the nets, boxes and kegs they're using. The implication seems to be that these are all items that they found and restored. But even the most high tech shit should break down after millennia. Oh well. I'm being nitpicky about things that probably wouldn't bother me at all if I were having more fun reading this book.

So they talk a bit. This is maybe our first time actually getting to see Aramina interact with people, and thus see her as a person instead of a McGuffin.

‘We haven’t been able to do much,’ Ara said, modestly, her courage restored. ‘Once we had the house finished—’ she broke off apologetically and looked anxiously at Jayge. He was sitting beside her, one arm lightly around her shoulders, the other hand clasping hers.

It does help.

P'ratan gets his first line, asking them about Threadfall. Jayge explains that they stay out of it. As a trader, he knows how to be holdless. Eventually, P'ratan, Robinton and Aramina go off to tour. Because she's now not afraid of being discovered. And I mean, okay, suddenly she doesn't hear dragons anymore, but that seems rather sudden. I feel like it might have worked better if we saw her point of view.

Anyway, Robinton and P'ratan are both in awe of the place. They do at least comment on the durable materials, so I suppose I'll rescind that complaint. They also think there must have been at least a hundred people there once.

Aramina leads them to the largest building, where they found the most useful stuff.

Robinton decides to take charge here:

‘What we need,’ the Harper said, planting his fists on his belt, ‘is an accurate rendering of the settlement.’ He looked around the dim storehouse, at the pile of nets and the tumble of crates and barrels. ‘Where each building is, the state of it — a list, if you wouldn’t mind, of the items you’ve made use of, what’s left! I think I must send for Perschar. He finds it tedious to draw straight rows of empty buildings.’

...I mean, dude, you could ASK them. Maybe they had survival type chores they have to do.

Jayge, on the other hand, is distracted by the mention of Perschar, and admits that he was on the team that assaulted Thella's base. He didn't know Robinton knew him.

Of course Robinton does, he's the one who prevailed on him to use his talents for Harper Hall. Which makes Harper Hall sound like some sort of espionage headquarters. Which would be fine, if we ever got a hint of that during the Harper Hall trilogy. But that's a different rant.

But I need to apologize to Robinton, because he does, at this point, ask if Jayge and Aramina would mind if Perschar comes for a few days.

Jayge wins my affection by hesitating until he catches Aramina's nod.

Robinton also suggests that his fire lizard could take a message to her parents in Ruatha, if she'd like. Which is a kind offer and completely ignores that Aramina has her own fire lizards that she could send. But I really should stop being an asshole to Robinton in this scene, since he actually has not done or said anything too objectionable.

Actually, I hate to admit it, but he's been tolerable all chapter. He continues this streak here:

What are we?’ And when the Harper regarded him in surprise, he elaborated. ‘Trespassers? Or what?’ He gestured to the other buildings and the rich fields beyond. ‘Piemur says this isn’t anybody’s hold?’ His voice lifted questioningly, and his eyes held an eloquent appeal.

Just as Piemur had hoped, the Masterharper had taken a liking to the couple. He beamed at them. ‘In my opinion,’ he said, shooting his journeyman a stern look, ‘you have undeniably established a secure and productive hold here. In my opinion, Holder Jayge, Lady Aramina, you may now do as you see fit. You have two Harper witnesses here to properly attest to your claim. We’ll even wake P’ratan up,’ he offered, gesturing to the beach where the old green and his rider were dozing in the sun, ‘and ride a sweep of what should be included in this Paradise River Hold.

That's actually very nice.

Jayge is surprised at the name, but Piemur admits sheepishly that that's what he'd been calling it. Ara thinks it's perfect, though she does offer "Lilcamp Hold" as an alternative. Which is pretty sweet. I really do wish we'd gotten to see these two actually fall in love and become real partners.

Jayge likes "Paradise River Hold" better. He thinks it'd be presumptuous to rename it just because they got shipwrecked there. They'll use the ancient's name.

They wonder if it will be so simple. Robinton says, in the South it will be. He'll "submit this matter to the Benden Weyrleaders", but they meet the old traditional methods of qualifying for Holdership.

I'm assuming this Hold falls into the half of the continent that F'lar and Lessa claimed then? It's a bit of a shame this is happening after they worked that out with Toric, because Toric might have been an interesting adversary.

Or maybe he'd have been okay with it. His complaints about the Northerners were mostly because they weren't productive society members. Since Jayge and Aramina are productive and come with very useful skills, he might have been fine with them.

Jayge becomes enthusiastic, now that they're not hiding, so to speak, he'd like to send for his Bloodkin. Piemur does wonder what "the new Lord Toric's reaction would be". I'm glad to hear that Toric got his official recognition at last, but it's weird that Piemur's gone from a pretty solid pleasant relationship with the man to this kind of ambivalence. Though Toric does have his faults, and Piemur is intelligent enough to realize that.

So anyway, Jayge says later that he's inviting his aunt Temma and Nazer to join them. Though he's still not entirely sure where they are. Piemur is irrepressibly unhelpful, but Robinton clarifies things a bit. He also says they could perhaps prevail on P'ratan to pick up the kin.

God, that poor guy basically IS Robinton's taxi service.

Then Piemur "suggest[s] firmly" that the time had come for Aramina to give the Harper a full account of the past two years.

Um. Why? What business is it of his? Why does this grown woman who isn't part of his Crafthall required to explain anything to Robinton??

And hey, more potshots toward Toric!

‘A fine thing when a harper has to teach a trader to bargain,’ Piemur said, mildly scoffing, though he found Jayge’s reluctance a refreshing change from Toric’s rampant greed. Jayge had to be reminded of Readis’s and any future children’s needs, as well as the requirements of Temma and Nazer, if they joined him. ‘You told me how far you and Scallak had walked west, east, and south. Well, we’ll just make those your boundaries. I’m good at figuring out how far one can travel in a day over what kind of terrain. This’ll be a good spread and still won’t take that much of a bite out of the continent.’

Seriously. I mean, yes, Toric has been consistently described as greedy. But what's with the sudden change of tone here? Except maybe as a warning that Toric is going to be a villain from this point on.

I really hope not. Toric is maybe the ONE character besides F'lar and Lessa who gets any kind of nuance in his portrayal. I'm going to be really upset if she fucks with that.

It does sound like Aramina's loss of power is permanent. When they say goodbye, Robinton asks if she regrets the loss. She doesn't. She wonders if he has any idea why this would happen? He doesn't, but he intends to talk to Lessa about it. (He notes that only Brekke and Lessa can do what she does, and they have to consciously try. Do they? Okay.) Aramina's rather understandably nervous about facing Lessa, but Robinton says he'll see to it that she won't chide her.

Hm. Mixed feelings here. I actually like that he's reassuring Aramina. But the idea of Robinton "seeing to" Lessa's behavior makes me froth at the mouth on general principle.

Once the others leave, Jayge and Aramina actually get to have a fucking conversation. Their second in the entire fucking book.

It's a nice one though. Jayge asks if she's truly glad about her power loss, and Aramina explains in a way that makes me annoyed anew that McCaffrey didn't put Aramina's short story in this book.

The quick summary is that, as a little girl, she loved to hear them talking. She'd been lonely as a kid and the dragons had been friends. But when she grew up, it became dangerous. Then Jayge found her.

I still feel like that doesn't really explain why the poor girl felt like she had to FLEE to the Southern Continent. But I'm really happy to finally hear things Aramina get to say and express things.

We do get the world's most awkward transition to an off page sex scene here though:

It was a wonderful gift for a child to have,’ she murmured. ‘But I grew up. And the gift became dangerous. Then you found me.’ She began to fondle him, as she often did when she wished them to make love. He held her closely for a long moment, trembling with the gift that Aramina gave to him.

...please don't try to write sex, McCaffrey. Not if this is how you bring it up.

Anyway, Perchar's happy to come, as apparently he wasn't enjoying the technical drawing that he'd been doing with the craftsman.

There's a weird transition though, where Robinton and Piemur spot something in one of Perschar's sketches from the Plateau site.. So I guess they're wandering off from Paradise River now. We do at least get the reassurance that Temma, Nazer and their child, as well as some supplies have been dropped off. The place is bustling now.

...okay. That's a bit abrupt, but I suppose I should be grateful for any kind of on page conclusion for those characters.

So Poranth and P'ratan taxi Piemur and Robinton to the Plateau. The work is going well. The large building that F'lar discovered is being used for artifact storage. Lessa's building is an onsite office. They've also dug out living quarters for the workers.

They go to see the Minercraftmaster Esselin. We're told that Breide, "Toric's ubiquitous representative" hurries in to hear everything. Yep, I think Toric's getting shifted to villain now. I hope I'm wrong.

But the tone shift IS pretty transparent, and we're clearly not supposed to like Breide:

‘Which hill?’ Breide asked. He and Master Esselin had an uneasy truce. Breide, blessed with an unusually sharp and copious memory, could remember such details as how many teams to excavate which shaped mound, how much water and how many meals they needed, and exactly where what had been found in which building. He knew which Crafthall and hold had sent men and supplies, and how many hours they had worked. He was useful, and he was a nuisance.

I mean, I appreciate that she actually lets him have competence. That's pretty new for McCaffrey. But yet again, an adversary character cannot have anyone actually like or respect them. Even though we're not really given any real reason for the dislike.

Breide also has "the flat voice of the slightly deaf" by the way. Though that doesn't stop him from giving Robinton a sharp glance when he "spoke with such confidence". Heh.

Breide exists to be an inconvenience, pushing the idea that the flying ships should get priority. Robinton, of course, dismisses his argument entirely. Those are Fanderal's responsibility.

And just to emphasize that Breide is bad news, Piemur approves of how "the Harper" (I still hate that) handled Breide. He finds the man's persistence annoying.

But seriously, LOOK at this:

‘I really don’t see why you would want to bother with this,’ Breide said as they came down the slope to the site in question. He was a man who sweated hard and wore a band on his forehead to keep the moisture from spilling over his brows into his eyes. He was perspiring freely and uncomfortably. Piemur wondered why he did not get himself one of the grass hats that some enterprising craftsman had been weaving as head protection. ‘An hour, Master Esselin said,’ Breide reminded them as if he had a timekeeper in his head.

In a couple of pages, this poor guy is described as "ubiquitous", "slightly deaf", "annoyingly persistent" and he gets to sweat awkwardly, oblivious to obvious solutions.

McCaffrey's back to her old tricks. In a book with Thella and Toric, that's disappointing.

But of course, Robinton and Piemur must be right. They lead some workmen in exploration efforts that I'm not going to bother to recap. They think they hit a hollow, and call in the fire lizards. Apparently the fire lizards are "better diggers than anyone Esselin has."

Which is remarkably insulting to trained workman and mean to the fucking fire lizards. They're the size of cats, dude. Don't make them dig!

Oh, maybe we do get a glimpse of nuance as eventually a sweating Piemur thinks he should get a sweatband like Breide's, if they are going to be continuing this activity. Acknowledgement that an adversary's goofy ways might have a point?

I think that's progress for McCaffrey.

Anyway, they do manage to get a hole dug out, they end up in a room with a cement floor, and surprisingly fresh air. (Piemur thinks the collapse side tunnel may mean some fissures around). And they find...MAPS!

Maps are cool! Though, it's kind of a rehash of the discovery in White Dragon. They learn that the Plateau is called Landing and...

Wait, really, they can read it? The language hasn't changed at all in THOUSANDS of years???

No human society that we know of has kept the exact same writing system for thousands of years. Even Chinese pictographs are different now than they were during the earliest dynasties. The Harpers are historians, among other roles, but the idea that they could read that stuff is very unlikely!

They spot other names too: Monaco Bay, Cardiff. The biggest volcano is Garben.

Interestingly the map doesn't go as far as Southern Hold.

And now, they're fucking defacing artifacts to keep Breide/Toric from seeing this stuff. No seriously:

‘Quickly, Piemur. See if you can pry the nails up. We mustn’t let Breide find these!’ Robinton had his beltknife out and was working on one of the larger maps. The nails popped easily out. ‘Roll them up. We’ll give them to Zair and Farli to convey for us. Quickly. Take a strip off your shirttail to tie them. It would be premature indeed for Toric to discover what a relatively small portion of Southern he has actually acquired. Then we’ve got to see if there’s anything else important on this site.’

...this really seems like a dick move. You're supposed to be allies. And Toric's arrangement was he can keep what he can hold. So he always knew there was more that he could try to reach. So what difference would it make?

Breide was away when they found their way in, but Robinton notes that he's a "suspicious sort". I mean, you're actively excluding him and his boss from an important historical discovery, so that seems like his suspicion has merit!

Also Piemur wonders why he's allowed there. Um, because Toric is an ALLY? And because he's his representative? Jeeze, McCaffrey really doesn't bother to try to pretend these folks are acting in good faith, does she.

So they reunite with Breide and pretend to be disappointed and...why are these our heroes again? What is the point of hording this knowledge?!

But anyway, our good guys, who inexplicably deserve this knowledge when Toric doesn't, gather in Cove Hold.

Seriously, look at this line up:

The Benden and Fort Weyrleaders, Lord Holders Jaxom and Lytol, and Masters Fandarel, Wansor, and Sebell met at Cove Hold to view the new maps. A damp cloth had cleaned away the dust and grit, and Master Fandarel was in awe of the clear film that had protected the surfaces. Some of the numerals that had been printed on the covering had apparently faded, though Piemur’s careful washing had not blurred others.

WHY THE FUCK IS JAXOM THERE? He's the LORD OF RUATHA. Toric doesn't get to come, despite this taking place in his fucking backyard. But JAXOM gets to be there?

What can he even contribute? Sure, he helped find the initial site. But he's neither craftsman or historian. His usefulness is done.

The maps do sound interesting though. There are two maps of the Southern Continent. One is a political map, of sorts, with names and defined areas. The other is topographical, with hills, contours, and river and ocean depths. The third continental map, which exists despite the prior sentence specifically saying two maps (I don't blame McCaffrey, I blame her editor), has numerals below each name. The fourth map was of Landing, and has labels like "INF, HOSP, WRHSE, VET" and so on.

There's also maps of underground caves. And a site called Monaco Bay.

Lessa expresses concern about Robinton's exertions, and he responds with irritation because he's a dick.

They do fill everyone in on Jayge and Aramina. They explain them as shipwrecked northerners and their baby. Lessa assumes it was an illegal sailing, but Piemur explained that they'd been delivering beasts from Keroon.

Anyway, this bit makes me laugh a bit:

Jaxim leaned forward on the table, keenly interested.

‘Paradise River?’ Lessa closed her eyes and uncrossed her arms to throw them up in an exasperated gesture of surrender. ‘And you like them, Robinton, and want them to hold?’

‘Well, someone will have to, Lessa,’ Robinton said, looking abashed. ‘If you ask my opinion…’ He glanced at Lytol and Jaxom for support.

‘I haven’t.’ Lessa glared at Jaxom and Lytol in a clear order not to encourage the Masterharper.

I mean, I don't think they need anyone's approval anyway. But I also hate Robinton, so there we go.

The discussion is actually interesting though. Robinton thinks too much is being made of "permission" to come there. It's a really big place with lots of habitable land.

F'lar points out the lack of Weyrs, but Robinton dismisses that by saying the land protects itself.

Thank you, Ted Tubberman. But also, that has NEVER made sense to me. The grubs are in the ground, they prevent Thread from burrowing. Okay. But that does nothing for the plants, animals and people that are between the sky and the ground. How do they survive?!

Lytol points out that D'ram's worrying himself to the bone over Plateau and Cove Hold. Which is a fair point. Robinton notes though that "the Lilcamps" have been careful to shelter themselves and their beasts in restored buildings.

Everyone is intrigued by the mention of ancient remains. And we learn a bit more about the house: it has twelve rooms. Whoa. And they show off Perschar's sketches. (Weirdly, McCaffrey has Piemur "recognize" them as Perschar's work, despite the fact that he was THERE when Perschar was and should know already.)

Robinton is a bard though, so he's arranged the sketches in dramatic order. The beach, the house, the storehouse, Readis, Jayge, and then, Jayge's wife.

Lessa recognizes her immediately. And both Lessa and F'lar demand answers.

And our timeline is even MORE fucked here:

‘No, no. No, only a few days, in fact. Piemur met them months ago, before he got to Cove Hold. The very day that—’

‘That Baranth flew Caylith,’ Jaxom put in when the Harper faltered. Glancing sharply at Piemur, the young Ruathan Lord Holder added, ‘A lot happened that day, too.’

A) how does Jaxom know what they're talking about?!

B) He found them the SAME DAY he left Toric's Hold??? That doesn't make any sense. There was mention of him going to many places in between!!! He was IN THE HOLD to hear about the mating flight!

Does Piemur have the ability to time travel and McCaffrey never told us, because that is the only way this fucking WORKS.

Look, I can accept McCaffrey retconning her canon between books. It annoys me and I'll bitch, but I can accept it.

BUT ONCE YOU RETCON SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KEEP IT CONSISTENT IN THIS ONE BOOK.

It's not like you can't EDIT it to be consistent!

So Lessa is pretty mad about the whole thing. She's willing to hear Aramina out, but there's likely to be recriminations. Really, Lessa has no right to bitch at Aramina because she doesn't own her. But I appreciate that her anger is more out of worry and having believed her dead.

When Robinton asserts that Aramina no longer hears dragons:

Lessa sat very still, except for her fingers, which tapped out an uneven rhythm on the armrests of her chair. She looked up at F’lar, then across to N’ton; her gaze flicked from Jaxom to Lytol’s expressionless face and rested on Fandarel, who looked back at her without concern.

‘And she is happy with this Jayge?’ the Weyrwoman asked.

‘One fine son already and another baby due.’ When Lessa discounted that as a measure of contentment, the Harper continued. ‘He’s a resourceful and provident man.’

I love Lessa so much.

Anyway, she asks a few more questions. How big is Paradise Hold, for one. Honestly, she sounds like Aramina's mother here, and it's rather adorable. She does end up relenting. And there's a rather cute bantering moment with Piemur about measurements.

There's also an interesting point where Lessa seems defensive of Toric, so maybe I'm judging McCaffrey too harshly. See?

‘Does this establish a precedent, old friend?’ Lytol asked quietly.

‘A better one, I feel, than the method Toric employed.’ He held up his hand to ward off Lessa’s rebuke. ‘Different circumstances now obtain. But very soon now, you Weyrleaders, Craftmasters, and Lord Holders must decide which precedent to follow. Toric’s or Jayge’s? In my opinion, a man ought to be able to Hold what he has proved.’

...how is their method different? Both of them have established their Hold. And proved it.

They make it sound like Toric went and Faxed shit up. But there wasn't a Hold there before Toric set it up. What's wrong with how he did it? (It's not like Jayge and Aramina are inviting strange Northerners to show up.)

Master Wansor has a really interesting question though. He wonders if the ancients had dragons. (Lessa snaps at him, then realizes that she was more curt than she intended and smiles at him. Love her!) He wonders how the ancients could travel over such vast holdings. There aren't any trails or tracks.

Hee, there's a mention of "Drak-ee's Lake". That's adorable. Drake lives!

There's more speculation about vehicles - they haven't found any working ones. (No one has yet realized they might want to look NORTH for those, since the Ancients would have taken the vehicles with them when they moved.)

And Jayge and Aramina will be confirmed. Lytol agrees it's a much better precedent to follow and I'm still utterly baffled. WHAT is different here?

McCaffrey clearly has an idea, but I don't follow. And I'm offended on Toric's behalf. He's spent decades establishing his Hold out of nothing and dealing with presumptuous Northerners who want to ride his coattails. But Jayge and Aramina (who I like too!) just get recognized for moving into a house when they got shipwrecked???

This is a long chapter. Yeesh.

So anyway, the news of a second hold travels north. Why, I don't know. But okay. Some folks are delighted by Jayge's elevation and some find it distasteful. One notable reaction: " Toric was one such, but he slowly overcame chagrin and resentment."

...okay.

I will never understand why McCaffrey feels the need to set up potentially interesting conflicts and defang them. And I still don't understand what she's trying to do with Toric. She keeps setting him up as an adversarial figure, but when push comes to shove, he doesn't DO anything adversarial.

The ONLY villainy thing he does is imprison Sharra. And admittedly, that's not cool. Then he apparently gets berated by all his relatives, and the only thing he does there is kick them out of the room. Then when she's rescued, he capitulates with some sour grapes but recovers quick. And here, we got build up of a possible issue from Piemur. We got Robinton and Lytol emphasizing how Jayge's method is better...somehow. Toric went decades without recognition and so there's plenty of possible ammunition and...nothing.

I mean, if she's making him Sir Red Herring on purpose, it's kind of genius. But I don't really know for sure.

Oh, hey, Thella still exists. Remember her? She started out awesome, then ended up kind of idiotic? And how she decided to kidnap Aramina despite having no stronghold to imprison her, and no resources or men to even raid with by the end?

In the North, a gaunt, scar-faced woman swore savagely when she heard, kicking her saddle across the narrow interior of her cave dwelling, throwing about her other belongings, and damaging the breakable without relief to her fury and bitter disappointment.

When her temper had abated sufficiently for her to think clearly, she sat down by the ashes of her fire and the spilled kettle that had contained her evening meal and began to plot.

She's fallen far though. Look at this:

Jayge and Aramina! How had he found the girl? Surely Dushik would have been on guard. She had had cause to doubt Readis’s loyalty ever since she had killed Giron, who had become a useless handicap in their desperate flight from her hold. Readis had openly opposed her plan to abduct Aramina and then, suddenly, he had acquiesced, a reversal she had not trusted. But once down that pit, the girl had been as good as dead. How had that wretched little trader man rescued her?

1) Why did she abduct the girl only to try to kill her? Why not just murder her right there? The Thella from the beginning of the book was practical, not stupid.

2) I'm not opposed to her killing Giron for being useless to her. But I wish we had a bit more detail as to how. He'd been useful before. Was he injured? Did he have some kind of breakdown because of the dragons attacking?

3) How does she know who Jayge even is? She met him once, sure. When he was part of the caravan that blocked her from Aramina. But she wouldn't have heard his name. And if she doesn't know that Dushik is dead, she couldn't have followed up on this.

Anyway, Thella's mad that Aramina was rescued, and living comfortably in the south, while Thella nearly died from a noxious and debilitating infection that left her scarred. Apparently if Readis or Dushik had been able to meet with her, she'd have fared better?

The logic seems faulty. And honestly, the Thella we saw at the beginning of the novel would not have been so stupid.

But anyway, she'd gone to ground in Nerat where she recovered. She's horribly scarred and her hair is wisps, and somehow this is Jayge and Aramina's fault.

All Thella’s misfortunes could be traced back to that whelp spawned by an insignificant trader, who had prevented her from finding a miserable girl who could have made life so much more predictable.

Periodically she had comforted herself with the torments Aramina would have suffered before succumbing to terror and starvation in that dark and slimy pit. She still had to settle accounts with the trader, and she thought long and pleasantly about how she would wreak her revenge on Jayge and the entire Lilcamp train.

Okay, but why did she shove Aramina in the pit to begin with?! She'd wanted her powers! She hadn't been laid up with the fever yet so...

And how does ANY of this go back to Jayge? I mean, look, I'm sure Thella is meant to be out of her mind at this point. But generally there's some kind of internal logic at work. And I'm really not seeing it.

I'm also really sad because the Thella at the beginning of the book was a much more formidable villain and I'd rather see THAT Thella square off against our heroes. Not this one.

She apparently does look a bit better now - a tan makes the scar less notable and her hair is growing back.

We're told that she's been recruiting again. Initially she had very bad luck, but once she hears about Paradise River Hold, she gets galvanized...

...

Okay, are we dealing with another time skip then? Because it's going to take time for Thella to build up an army. And wouldn't it make more sense to have had her do this before trying to kidnap Aramina again anyway???

But we get our cliffhanger of Thella heading South on an acquired ship. So...there we go.

I have to admit, this chapter's been an improvement. It's probably too little too late to actually save this book, but I am at least somewhat interested in seeing what happens next. So yay!