Shapechangers - Book One - Chapter Seven

[kalinara]

Okay, so last time on Shapeshifters, Carillon exited, stage left. Probably not pursued by a bear. There are pluses and minuses to this: On the plus side, it means we're likely to finally see the end to some of the more repetitive dialogues in the story. On the minus side, we've lost one of the only actually compelling character beats.

But there's always the chance that Alix will actually get to play a significant role besides object of male attention. Let's cross our fingers.



So Chapter Seven starts us at the evening. Alix is so tired, we're told, that "she let Duncan lead her to his fire and push her down onto a thick tawny pelt without saying a word." Not really fond of the physical manhandling here. As a Crofter's daughter, Alix hasn't spent a lot of time on horseback, and she's feeling the rough ride. Duncan gives her some honey brew, and she nearly chokes on the "vitriolic taste".

"Vitriolic" is a really weird word choice here. But anyway, Duncan is oblivious to her reaction as he oils his bow. That's not a euphemism, but I feel like it could become one. Alix feels better enough to engage in some light racism.

"He seemed oblivious to her as she scraped up the last of the stew and set the bowl aside, rattling the wooden spoon. She felt better for a full stomach, but it also made her more alert to the dangers she faced- She could no longer take refuge in the haze of exhaustion and helplessness that had dogged her during the long ride. Now she could look across the small campsite and see the dark warriors so intent on taking her away from her people.

Alix was still apprehensive, but most of the overpowering fright had left her. Duncan had treated her with calm kindness all day, and with Finn gone she sensed no threat to her person or her equilibrium. She had the chance to consider her plight from a more sensible angle.

'Will you answer my questions, shapechanger?'"

I'm not saying Alix needs to be happy or even pleasant toward the people who are holding her captive. But I'm side-eyeing the "dark warriors" line. We've already established that Alix is dark complected herself, so it's not like that should be their most notable trait, as opposed to their rough clothing or gold jewelry. This might be more of an issue with the narration (which definitely wants an emotional reaction from the audience) than Alix herself.

But I really don't like that she keeps using a racial slur when she knows his name.

Duncan reminds her that she knows his name and tells her to use it if she would speak to him. Alix decides to ask some worldbuilding questions here, namely, how does one get a lir? Fair question.

It sounds like a puberty thing: basically they go out into the forest or mountains for a period of time, (it can be as long as weeks!) where they "open themselves to the gods" and the lir seeks them out.

Alix asks what happens if there is no lir: a Cheysuli with no lir is considered to be only half a man. He can't serve the prophecy and he's not whole.

This is actually interesting, because I vaguely recall that we meet a lirless Cheysuli at one point, and honestly, he seems to do as much to fulfill the prophecy as anyone else who isn't directly involved in the giant cousin fucking eugenics fest that we end up with by the end of the series. But that's for a later book.

Alix asks what happens to Duncan if Cai is killed, something that Duncan takes as a threat:

Duncan's hands tensed on the bow. First he looked at the hawk perching in the tree, then he set the bow aside and gave her his full attention. He leaned forward intently and Alix felt the full power of his strength.

'You do not ask out of mere curiosity. If you seek to escape by slaying my lir you will be Cheysuli-cursed. It is not a simple thing to live with.' A flicker passed across his face, 'But you would not live long enough to truly suffer.'"

Subtle dude. Also does this mean that Cheysuli actually DO curse people? Could Shaine be right about his family's fate? (Not that this would excuse the genocide, of course.)

Anyway, Duncan decides that he'll tell her anyway, dramatically telling her that he's putting his life in her hands. Basically, the lir is a Cheysuli's big weak point. If the lir dies, the Cheysuli dies. If the lir is imprisoned, the Cheysuli is powerless. Duncan also drops a really interesting claim here: he says that if Shaine kills them all, Homana loses her ancestors. That makes some sense: "Mujhar" sounds a lot more like the Cheysuli words that we've heard so far (mei jha, rujho) than the Homanan/English dialogue.

Alix doesn't believe him, which doesn't bother Duncan, he says she can ask the lir. It is kind of interesting that the animal companions know these things. Do they communicate with one another? Or is it information they get directly from the gods?

That's actually something I wish the series would get into more. In Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series, the telepathic white horses often end up informing their riders about various historical and cultural notes. They can do this because they speak to one another and essentially have their own society within Valdemar. (There are other reasons the Companions may have specific knowledge, but that's more complicated.)

The dragons of Pern seem to be more focused on their riders. They still have their own interrelations, primarily based on mating, but we haven't really seen much to indicate that they socialize with each other outside of that, though they're clearly capable of communicating amongst themselves.

I'm curious about the lir. Do they socialize like the Companions? They're not all the same species, so they're not likely to have the same kind of mating bonds as the dragons. Do they communicate with one another at all? I don't actually remember if this gets answered or not. I hope it does.

Anyway, Alix asks what happens to a lir when the Cheysuli dies: apparently they go back into the wilderness. Duncan notes that Cai would grieve, but he'd live. Cai actually breaks in here, to chide Duncan for dismissing his grief. This makes Duncan laugh silently, which in turn surprises Alix, who realizes "the solemnity she had learned to associate with him was not as habitual as she had assumed."

Well, he is human, Alix. And it's not really that surprising that he might not find a reason to laugh normally, since his people are being targeted by a genocide.

So she presses on what "truly" happens to Duncan if Cai is slain. I'm not sure how she knows that the warrior dying when the lir does isn't the whole story, but I'll let that go. Duncan basically clarifies that a Cheysuli commits suicide when their lir dies. There's a ritual involved: they forsake their clan and go into the forests, weaponless and "prepared" to seek death.

Alix gets judgy about this and thinks it's barbaric. Duncan says that "a shadow has no life". He can't really explain it to her, but the gist seems to be that the mental solitude after the death of the lir is too much for the Cheysuli partner. He tells her that she'll think differently when she learns more.

Then it's Duncan's turn to ask questions, and he asks if she would marry Carillon, since he saw what was between them. Alix's reaction is interesting because she'd never actually considered marriage in her fantasies, it's simply impossible. He would be marrying some foreign princess.

Duncan assumes then that she'd be Carillon's light woman, which offends Alix. She points out that it'd be difficult to be Carillon's mistress while here with the clan. Duncan tells her she's not a prisoner, which is such a bold faced lie that I'm surprised his nose didn't grow. He believes Carillon will come back for her.

Alix is glad to hear it, and calls Duncan Shapechanger again. PLEASE knock that off, Alix. He asks why she fears them. Possibly because you kidnapped her, dude? But Alix just parrots that she was raised to fear them and "acknowledge the sorcery in their blood" She then cites the things that they've been doing: raiding crofts and stealing livestock, injuring people.

Um. Alix. They're literally being hunted in a genocidal purge. You have so many LEGITIMATE grievances with Finn and Duncan right now. The fact that they steal some fucking cows is not that big of a deal. Duncan points that out, basically. He says that before the purge, they were left to their own devices and could hunt instead of raid.

Alix asks if, given the choice, Duncan would return to his former way of life. Duncan goes detached and Alix "hears the echos of prophecy in his voice" whatever the fuck THAT means, when he says that they'll never regain their former way of life, the gods have said so.

Anyway, Duncan brings the topic back to Carillon and Alix says that she won't be any man's mistress. She doesn't really know what she'll do or what she wants. Duncan blames her Homanan upbringing, stating that in the Cheysuli, a woman takes what man she will, and can refuse one man and take another easily.

I wonder how true that is, really. Finn didn't seem inclined to take Alix's no for an answer, though Storr did intercede and prevent him from going too far. I wonder how it works in terms of division of labor though. If men do all the hunting/raiding and providing, then a woman is not going to be as free to leave one unless she has another food source. It seems like this system definitely benefits a man, who can leave a family whenever he wants. I wonder how Finn and Duncan's mother felt about Hale running off with Lindir.

Anyway, Alix says that her father didn't bring her up to be a light woman, Duncan says that her father didn't bring her up at all. Hey, dick, adopted parents count. Anyway, the discussion goes back to Carillon, and Duncan tells Alix, and us, that the Ihlini will see to it that Carillon doesn't live to wed. Alix recognizes the term as "sorcerers who serve the dark gods".

How is that different from what you believe about the Cheysuli, Alix? I wish they'd go into a little more about what the average commoner knows about both races.

Anyway, she wonders why they'd care about Carillon and how they matter, since Solinde's king, Bellam, will decide what they do. Duncan gives us more backstory: Solinde's a strong, but greedy, land who wants Homana as a vassal. Bellam has apparently tried for a long time, and now he's joined with Tynstar, the idiotically named ruler of the Ihlini, and is the real power.

Seriously, his name is Tynstar. I'm used to the nomenclature of this series being a little all over the place. Really, only the Cheysuli (Scottish/Irish), and in later books, Erinnish (Irish) and Ellasians (Welsh) seem to have any real consistency with their names. The Homanans and Solindish seem to be a melting pot of Continental European names with the occasional Irish (Shaine) and Tolkien Elvish (Lindir) thrown in. But where the fuck does "Tynstar" fit?

It's really hard to take a villain seriously when he's named "Tynstar".

Anyway, my request is granted: Alix apparently heard stories of the Ihlini as a child, they were the threat that her mother used to get her to finish her chores, until her dad said she shouldn't, since speaking of the Ihlini gave him power. It's interesting that they differentiate between the Ihlini and the Cheysuli. I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd conflated the two magical, allegedly demonic groups. But maybe the fact that the Cheysuli are a local threat helps keep them distinguished from the obviously foreign Ihlini.

Anyway, Duncan believes that Homana can't stand against Tynstar, which shocks Alix, because Homana has never fallen. But Duncan points out that in all those years, the Mujhars had Cheysuli with them, and the god-gifts of both races basically cancel each other out. There was a big battle that they helped win right before the marriage debacle. (We learn, AGAIN, that Lindir hid with Hale for eight years.)

When an Ihlini and Cheysuli face off, the Ihlini has no real power: just some illusions and simple arts. But the Cheysuli can't shift or hear their lir. It kind of sounds like the Ihlini get the better part of that deal. Alix is stunned by all of this, especially by hearing Duncan talk about the Ihlini the same way she sees the Cheysuli: as being demon worshippers and evil.

Did he really though? He really seemed to just be talking about one guy. Anyway, for some reason hearing that the Ihlini are a real threat to the land "she loved" (does she? I don't really recall patriotism coming up before), makes her desperate. She starts to get overwhelmed.

Duncan calms her down by...giving her a silver comb that he was going to give to a girl in the Keep. He feels like Alix needs it more. Okay...it feels kind of like a major non-sequitur though. Sorry I destroyed your world view, here's a comb? He urges her to use it.

So Alix starts fixing her hair because apparently grooming makes everything better when you're a girl. She asks Duncan if he has a wife or mistress, he doesn't. Alix asks "Why did you go to such effort to explain the freedom of your race. if you do not subscribe to it yourself?"

What the hell kind of question is that? Gay marriage is finally legal in the United States, but that doesn't mean that everyone is marrying a same-sex partner. Maybe Duncan is himself gay, or asexual. (Sadly, spoiler: he's not.) Maybe he leans toward monogamy, but doesn't judge the rest of his society.

Anyway, Duncan pulls a move straight from Patrick from Schitt's Creek, and keeps stirring the fire even though she can see that it doesn't need it. He explains that he became the clan-leader eight months ago, and he chose not to divide himself between a wife and leadership this year. "Maybe next year." He says, with very little subtlety.

I was joking before, but apparently brushing her hair has made her feel better about Duncan. Look, I don't want to judge a woman for dealing with captivity however she can, but this is literally what it says:

The exercise improved her disposition and her feelings toward the clan-leader. No man, did he want to sacrifice her to some unspeakable god, would allow her the amenities common to courtesy. She was grateful to him.

Stockholm Syndrome concerns aside, what does THAT mean? He's clearly not going to sacrifice you because he let you brush your hair? What?

Anyway, she thanks him warmly, and then Duncan gets all weird and squirrelly: he starts muttering something in the "lyrical Old Tongue" and he glares at her with hostile eyes. When she asks what she did, he demands to know if she can "hear the tahlmorra" in her. So Duncan starts dropping quickly out of his position as unfortunately best male character by default role as he "violently" throws a blanket at her.

Alix is scared and angry and wants to know what the fuck is going on. Duncan keeps muttering about tahlmorra, and how "she knows nothing of it". That's not her fault dude. Alix, understandably, asks how she's supposed to conduct herself when he's not telling her anything. This calms Duncan down out of asshole mode. He remembers that she doesn't know what tahlmorra is, but "I question that you feel nothing."

What the fuck does that mean?

He clarifies "with effort" that they serve the prophecy, but don't know it perfectly. Apparently the shar tahls, or priests, tell them what they can, but a lot of it is confusing. Tahmorra, which seems to be a kind of active fate/destiny, is something they can sense. Duncan just came face to face with his and it's freaking him out. He can't really accept it, which is bad because it's a denial of his heritage to NOT accept it.

I think Alix is starting to Stockholm hard here: "Alix felt a measure of his pain, amazed at the depth of his turmoil. His solemnity had vanished; the man she had thought so controlled and implacable was no different from herself. But she did not understand, and said so."

Duncan relaxes a bit, saying that she's too young and too Homanan, and that Carillon has already won her heart. He urges her to sleep, and the chapter ends.

Yay. We're getting into the romance part. Can you tell? Egads. I do think Duncan's end of things is kind of interesting though: he's realizing that he's basically predestined to be with a girl who is very young, with a foreign upbringing, and seems to be in love with someone else. The idea that a Cheysuli might be genuinely unhappy with his god-defined fate is one that gets flirted with throughout the series, as I recall. (Some of these characters do end up with pretty horrible fates and not all of them get happy endings,) That said, it's not her fault, dude. So back the fuck off. I suppose we should be grateful that he doesn't intend to force the issue. Ugh.

At least we got some nice information without endless repetition this time? The world building IS interesting, I just wish the relationship dynamics were better. I shouldn't be thinking longingly about F'lar and Lessa, but I kind of am. That's how annoying this is. Finn and Duncan are making me miss F'LAR. I also would like Alix to STOP with the epithet usage, please. It's a lot easier to like a character when they aren't a blatant racist.

Sadly, next chapter, Finn returns.

Comments

[copperfyre]

:( :( :(

Why is everyone both terrible and an idiot?

[kalinara]

I wish I knew.

[pangolin20]

Okay, so last time on Shapeshifters, Carillon exited, stage left. Probably not pursued by a bear.

I think that should be "Shapechangers". :p Also... I thought there were Cheysuli with bears as lir. Did I remember right?

Duncan gives her some honey brew, and she nearly chokes on the "vitriolic taste".

...Why does this honey brew taste acid and biting? I think something's wrong there.

This is actually interesting, because I vaguely recall that we meet a lirless Cheysuli at one point, and honestly, he seems to do as much to fulfill the prophecy as anyone else who isn't directly involved in the giant cousin fucking eugenics fest that we end up with by the end of the series. But that's for a later book.

Was that Rowan?

(So Cai is male, I see. I thought so.)

Anyway, Alix asks what happens to a lir when the Cheysuli dies: apparently they go back into the wilderness. Duncan notes that Cai would grieve, but he'd live.

Well, that answers another question of mine!

Duncan blames her Homanan upbringing, stating that in the Cheysuli, a woman takes what man she will, and can refuse one man and take another easily.

I somehow doubt that.

Bellam has apparently tried for a long time, and now he's joined with Tynstar, the idiotically named ruler of the Ihlini, and is the real power.

Why did Roberson ever think naming the villain "Tin Star" (almost) was a good idea? Also... why does there need to be an Ihilini villain? I think the genocide makes for a good enough plot now. (For some reason, I think I will be saying that a lot.)

I think I could see it in BattleAxe, come to think of it. "TinStar/Tynstar" would fit with some naming conventions there are there and it would hardly be worse than the actual villain's name...

Anyway, for some reason hearing that the Ihlini are a real threat to the land "she loved" (does she? I don't really recall patriotism coming up before), makes her desperate.

I guess it might be because she now knows the Cheysuli actually protected Homana all this time?

"Why did you go to such effort to explain the freedom of your race. if you do not subscribe to it yourself?"

Because you can want good things for others while not wanting them yourself?

The exercise improved her disposition and her feelings toward the clan-leader. No man, did he want to sacrifice her to some unspeakable god, would allow her the amenities common to courtesy. She was grateful to him.

Or maybe he wants you to look good before he sacrifices you. Seriously, what kind of logic is this?

Oh no, I don't want to see more Finn...

Edit:

Sorry I destroyed your world view, here's a comb?

That was great XD

[kalinara]

Yep, that was a Rowan reference!