Shapechangers - Book Two - Chapter Two
Nov. 10th, 2019 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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i_read_whatSo last time, what barely passes for this book's plot took another inexplicable turn as Carillon, who for most of the book so far has been directly opposed to introducing Alix to her genocidal grandfather, has now become the one forcing a suddenly reluctant Alix to go.
So anyway, this chapter we meet Shaine himself.
So of course, Alix is now dressed to the nines.
"Alix went before her grandsire in silks and velvets, girdled with gold and garnets. The rich brown fabrics whispered against her legs and fine slippers hugged her bruised feet. Her head felt heavy with the weight of her hair, laced with pearls and tiny garnets. Her ears ached dully with fresh piercing, but the gems glittering in them assuaged her pain."
Oh yes, I can see how reluctant Alix was to get dolled up, given that she apparently allowed Lorsilla to pierce her ears. And of course, her ears are neither red nor bleeding. Because we can't spoil this moment. God, I'm annoyed.
So anyway, Alix is now in an audience in front of a man who has ordered a twenty-five year long genocide. Carillon is standing next to her "radiat[ing] pride and confidence" while Shaine "dominate[s] the hall with inborn power and strength of will."
Shaine's standing in front of the lion throne, which admittedly does sound a lot swankier and more comfortable than the iron throne:
"Behind him, raised on grasping lion's claws, stood a carved throne banded with bronze and silver; cushioned in silks and velvets. Etched deeply within the throne was scrollwork of gold paint, and the wood gleamed with polishing. The scent of beeswax and power hung in the air."
I'm sorry, but I can't help laugh my ass off at "beeswax and power". The description is fine, for the most part, but "beeswax and power"? Really? Can I find that scent at Yankee Candle?
So anyway, Alix is understandably intimidated. She tries to concentrate on the fact that he's her grandfather. It doesn't help. Probably because he fucking ordered your father's people massacred? For fuck's sake, this isn't a Cinderella facing Lady Tremaine situation here.
"There is no forgiveness in this man . . . Alix realized."
No. Fucking. Shit.
I'm honestly not even sure what the point of this scene is. I feel like we're supposed to be having some sort of "girl meets mom's rich father who disowned her when she married a poor man, and gets to shout him down" sort of fantasy scenario. But Shaine isn't a rich snobby patriarch. He's is murdering people.
Anyway, after noting the lack of forgiveness in her genocidal maniac of a grandfather, Alix decides to be prideful.
"Accordingly, she lifted her head proudly and firmed her own mouth. Carillon stepped away from her, renouncing his right to speak for her, but it did not disturb her. She was beyond fear or reticence and let the instincts she had only sensed rule her actions. Her defiance flashed across the Great Hall to strike Shaine like a blow."
...it would serve her right if he just had her murdered right there, honestly. This is so fucking stupid.
Anyway, Shaine doesn't do that. Instead he notes that he sees nothing of Lindir in her, only "a shapechanger's stamp".
She asks what it tells him, and then we get another patented Jennifer Roberson conversation that doesn't quite work for me.
He stared at her, face taut and remote. "It tells me you have no place here. It speaks to me of treachery and sorcery, and a Cheysuli curse."
"But you admit it is true I might be Lindir's child."
A flicker shadowed the gray eyes a moment. Alix could sense Shaine's consideration of rejecting her outright, but she knew his pride too well for that. He would not quail before acknowledging his wish to rid himself of a halfling child, even at birth.
"Carillon says you are that child," he said finally. "Also that Torrin had the raising of you. So you may call yourself Lindir's child if you wish—it does you no good. I will not acknowledge you."
"I did not come expecting acknowledgment."
His dark brows rose. "You did not? I find that difficult to believe."
Alix kept her hands away from the golden girdle with effort, fighting down her nervousness. "I came because I wished to see the man who could cast out a child and curse an entire race. I came to see the man who began the qu'mahlin."
1. Honestly, Shaine's being a lot more patient here than I would expect. I mean this dude ordered a massacre. He's face to face with a Cheysuli woman. One whose birth inspired him to renew the qu'mahlin. He'd ordered her never to come to the capitol. And all he says is that he will not acknowledge her.
In a way, I appreciate it. It implies some depth. Obviously Shaine is a monster. But he's not immediately ordering her killed. He's not even ordering her to never mention their familial connection. It might imply that he does still retain some love for his daughter, deep down.
But given how awful the book has been so far, it's very hard to give Ms. Roberson the benefit of the doubt here. I think she just forgot what kind of man Shaine was, or is glossing over it, to give Alix this victory.
2. It's interesting that Shaine implies that Carillon is the one who told him that Torrin raised her. Torrin's version of events had indicated that Shaine knew and ordered him away. I'm going to look at this in a Watsonian way as opposed to a possible Doyleist reading that Ms. Roberson forgot her own narrative: Torrin had no reason to lie, and Shaine would have noticed when an important figure in his court left to become a minor landowner. So Shaine likely did know, but he's keeping up a polite fiction that he didn't and therefore can avoid retaliating against Torrin for not obeying.
3. The narrative's shifted again. Now we're back to Alix wanting to come here all along. As opposed to chickening out and having Carillon inexplicably force her. Okay then.
4. Alix didn't want acknowledgement of course, but the book wasn't going to pass up a chance to doll her up. That's probably why Alix conveniently forgot to get a change of clothes from her own house. If she looked nice in commoner garb, there'd be less reason to dress her in finery.
5. I really think we should have heard about Alix's desire to "see the man who began the qu'mahlin" before this. Up until this point, it had sounded like she wanted an acknowledgment. And you know, I wouldn't necessarily have blamed her for that if the book would have fucking committed to the idea. Alix is an innocent, raised in a loving household. I could understand a young girl like that harboring a secret hope that if she came face to face with her grandfather, that he would acknowledge her and change his ways. It's stupid of course, but a stupid that comes of youth and overconfidence.
This motive is both more realistic (in the sense that she doesn't expect to be welcomed), but it's also even stupider.
Look, I think most people have that one relative that they'd love to confront for some reason or another. But there's a difference between calling your grandfather an asshole for how he treated your dad, and this!
If I were Jewish, and my grandfather was Hitler, I wouldn't be going into Nazi Berlin to have a fucking shouting match.
And oh boy, is this ever a stupid shouting match:
Shaine tells her not to use "shapechanger words". Alix points out that he'd welcomed them once. Yes, pre-genocide. Shaine says that he was deceived, but he'll take retribution for it.
And this bit is something else:
Alix lifted her head in a reflection of his arrogance. "Is what Lindir did worth the destruction of an entire race, my lord? Do you seek to be no better than Bellam of Solinde, who wants only to humble this land?"
Carillon drew a quick breath of dismay but she paid it no heed. She held Shame's eyes with her own and felt the power in the man. She began to wonder, deep within her soul, if she had not her own measure of it.
I'm with you, Carillon. Look, Alix, you're right of course. But you're in front of a king, in his own castle! For some contrived reason he hasn't killed you yet. THAT CAN CHANGE AT ANY TIME.
As it does: Shaine says harshly, that she's Cheysuli and is subject to death.
Alix asks him if he would have her slain, then. Um, Alix. Yes? Keep up?
He just repeats that Cheysuli are under penalty of death.
Carillon steps in now, pointing out that what Lindir had done was "long ago and best forgotten" He urges Shaine not to cast Alix away again.
Now Shaine and Carillon argue, and I like this a lot more. Namely because, as Shaine's heir and only living male relative, Carillon has some guarantee of his own safety. Carillon is also considerably more polite than Alix is.
It still starts to go badly, as Shaine suggests that the Cheysuli used sorcery on him and asks if he must disinherit him. Carillon doesn't flinch:
"You may do as you will, my lord, but it seems futile to disinherit the only possible heir to Homana's throne. Did you not live through too many empty years in hopes of getting one before?"
"Carillon!"
"You have made me your heir," he said steadily. "But it does not take my humanity from me."
...okay, that's a pretty awesome moment. Carillon might be growing on me.
Shaine orders Carillon out, and Alix steps up again. Shaine's starting to lose it, calling her a "shapechanger witch". And then Alix hears a chiming tone in her mind: it's Cai, who tells her that "this petty lord cannot harm you".
I'm not sure a man who has ordered a massacre of an entire race can really be called a "petty lord", but birds are like that, I suppose.
Anyway, unfortunately, this gives Alix confidence. She tells Shaine that he rules only "through the sufferance of the Cheysuli" and he owes them more than he admits. Shaine roars that he'll drive them out of the land and he'll see them destroyed.
Alix tells him he'll destroy the heart of Homana and that he doesn't deserve to be king. And while I'm happy that this no longer feels like a disowned heir yelling at her rich granddad, I still think that there is nothing natural or realistic about any of this.
He's about to hit her, and she calls Cai to her. It's very dramatic, and Alix begins to understand the magic of her blood and what it means to be Cheysuli.
Honestly, it'd serve them right if Shaine ordered an archer to shoot Cai while he's flying, but for some reason there doesn't seem to be any guards in the throne room. He orders her to leave, and her response is...ugh...
"Willingly, my lord grandsire," she said clearly. "Nor will I suffer a foolishly vain man longer than I must."
His face contorted. "Leave this place before I have my guard take you!"
Alix was so angry she ached with it. She turned her rigid back on the Mujhar and walked to me open doors at the end of the ball. There she swung around once more.
"I see now why Lindir took her leave of you, my lord. I only wonder she did not do it sooner."
My head hurts.
I know I've been wanting Alix to do something. And I guess that a part of me admires her ambition. If you're finally going to shout down someone, then you might as well go for the top. But this is all so aggravating. Alix's moment is triumphant only because Shaine is a) conveniently unguarded, and b) seemed to have forgotten that he could order her death at any time.
And don't get me started on the sheer childishness of her last lines. Let's insult the genocidal monster. That totally accomplishes...something.
Ms. Roberson could have done something interesting with this confrontation. She could have had Alix try to kill Shaine, intent on stopping the qu'mahlin that came about because of her parents' actions. She would have failed, of course, but it would have established Alix as someone who is fearless and determined, wanting to right wrongs. Cai can save her life, and the plot can go on from there.
Or okay, Alix isn't really the fighter type. But she's young and idealistic. Let's use that instead. Alix has always lived in a loving household and can't really imagine a parent who doesn't, on some level, love their child. So Alix comes to Shaine, hoping that he'll see Lindir in her and let her try to talk him out of the qu'mahlin. Again, she'd fail, of course. But it would establish Alix as someone who is innocent and a little foolish, but still well-meaning. Someone who wants to use her advantages to help others, and is willing to put herself in potentially dangerous situations because there's a chance she can do good.
But Ms. Roberson didn't go in either of those directions. Instead, Alix forced this confrontation with Shaine specifically because she wanted to see him and insult him to his face. She spares no thought, at any point, to the number of people that he's already had killed. She puts a man that she theoretically loves at risk as well. And she leaves triumphant because she managed to toss a few insults his way.
Basically, this entire chapter was about feeding Alix's ego.
So anyway, Alix leaves the palace. She realizes that she's still wearing the clothes and jewels from the palace, and she decides that she'll keep them, if only to have a legacy of her mother. Whatever, Alix.
Actually, to be fair, I would normally approve of this. But right now I am quite sick of Alix.
Anyway, she's leaving very quickly, because Shaine doesn't take insults well and she doesn't want to end up in the dungeons. I'm still not sure how she even made it out of the throne room. Are there no guards anywhere?
As she leaves, she's caught by a looming figure: Duncan of course. Alix shouts in surprise, but Duncan quiets her down. She (idiotically) points out that this is Homana-Mujhar and Shaine will kill him. (Apparently Alix is now on a first name basis with her grandfather. Probably because it's clumsy to say Homana-Mujhar and Mujhar in the same sentence. But still, it's weird.). Duncan says that'll happen only if he finds out Duncan was there, which he might, if Alix keeps shouting.
Duncan drags her into hiding and asks if she's learned what she wanted, and has now seen what it's like to be a Cheysuli in Shaine's presence. Alix insists that it's something she had to do. (You really didn't, Alix). And Duncan says that she's no better than Lindir, and "The Mujhar's get are willful women."
...I hate every fucking person in this story. I really do.
Ugh, is this chapter not done yet?
So anyway, Alix goes along with Duncan happily for a while, then stops short when she remembers that he was her kidnapper. And we get this idiocy:
"Duncan, I told you to let me be when Carillon came for me. Why have you come?"
He shifted slightly. Faint torchlight illuminated his face and showed her an odd glint in his yellow eyes. He smiled coldly.
"You said I must do as my brother to stop you. I let you go then. I will not do it again."
"Let me be!"
"You are Cheysuli," he said flatly. "You have a place with your clan."
"I refuse it!"
His hands clamped on her arms, hurting .her. He ignored her wince of pain. "Alix, you will have us found if you persist. What sense is it to have us both slain in the name of Shaine's purge?"
"If you do not explain yourself I will shout for the guardsmen. I am surprised they have not found you already, if they are so skilled."
He laughed softly. "The Cheysuli move in silence, small one."
He paused significantly. "Except, perhaps, for you."
She glared at him. A strange sense of defiance and exhilaration crept into her heart and nearly consumed her. She smiled at him in vindictive joy and opened her mouth as if to cry out.
Duncan silenced her instantly. This time be did not use his hand. Alix, shocked to the core, felt herself caught in a harsh embrace and kissed as if he would take the soul from her.
She stiffened instantly, pressing palms against his chest to push him away. In that moment she realized the absolute strength of a determined man and was amazed by it. She sought to escape but was trapped within his arms.
Alix shuddered once, recalling Finn's harshness and the instinctive fear he had provoked. Then, oddly, the thought fell away.
A new awareness slid through her as Duncan's mouth moved on hers. It was imperceptive, yet she felt it, and he no longer forced her. The pain he had inflicted at first was gone, altering in some subtle fashion. When a second shiver coursed through her it was of another origin.
Duncan is not his brother, she thought dazedly, and I do not fear this man . . ."
1. Alix, did you forget that you're running from the castle because you just insulted the king?
2. Isn't there a better time and place to have this conversation?
3. I'd be all on board with not going with your kidnapper here, Alix, but maybe just run instead of shouting at him?
4. And I'm so glad sexual assault runs in this family.
I hate all of these people.
Anyway, Alix asks if this is his tahlmorra. Duncan notes that he may not have to wait so long after all. (Ew.) This bit is special too:
"I have come to you as Finn, forcing myself on a woman who does not wish it." he said grimly. "Have I earned me enmity you promised?"
"I have forgot what I said."
I hate these people so damn much.
Anyway, eventually he does back off a little noting that she's too young to understand. Alix tells him that she thinks no woman is too young to understand. Because what's a little pedophilia apologia between friends.
I never thought I'd say this but thank god, Carillon interrupts them. He is not happy to see Duncan, but he doesn't attack. He tells Alix that she's driven Shaine into a rage, and he's sworn to have the hawk hunted down and to have Alix exiled and imprisoned on the Crystal Isle.
It occurs to me that at no point did Alix express any concern for Carillon when she left, despite Shaine threatening to disinherit him. That was probably an empty threat, but still.
Anyway, Carillon says he'll take Alix back to Torrin's croft. I...feel like Shaine can probably find her there, dude. Duncan says that Alix will come with him. Carillon asks if Duncan speaks for her and calls him shapechanger. Good question, but knock it off with the racial epithets dude.
Duncan tells him that he has no place in this, and "She is not for you."
Alix FINALLY speaks up, telling Carillon that something happened to her in the hall. When Shaine called her a witch and cursed her blood, she felt no shame, horror or fear. She felt like the Cheysuli in her finally came to life. Now she wants to leave. Fair enough.
She tells Carillon that what's between them must stay unknown or unnamed, and tells him that the Cheysuli aren't his enemies. She reminds him that he said he'd accept her whatever she was, now she wants him to accept the others.
It takes a bit more convincing, but when she makes it clear that she's going willingly with Duncan, and that she's not ensorcelled, Carillon offers to get them mounts. That turns out to be unnecessary, so he walks them out himself.
Carillon is definitely starting to grow on me. Maybe it's just because I hate everyone else so much.
Anyway, Duncan and Carillon have another talk about the qu'mahlin, but this one doesn't actually feel repetitive. Duncan reminds Carillon that Shaine won't be king forever. He mentions that the Cheysuli are down to a quarter of their number and more keep dying. He says it's up to Carillon to stop it.
Carillon asks why he should, when he was raised on the tales of their demonic arts, et cetera. I am reminded that Carillon is only a year older than Alix is, and the qu'mahlin has been in effect his entire life.
Duncan says that he should do it "for the woman we both want." Alix is of course a sexy lamp in this scene and contributes nothing.
Carillon admits that Shaine's vehemence "alarms him", and that he doesn't curse Bellam or the Ihlini in the same way he does the Cheysuli.
Oh, ew, ew, ew. Duncan notes that Hale served Shaine for thirty-five years before he shattered that bond and hereditary service. He points out that Shaine lost a daughter and found his realm suddenly at war again. He understands Shaine.
So, hey, remember how Torrin talked about how eighteen year old Lindir led Hale astray? Hale had been serving Shaine for THIRTY-FIVE YEARS. Unless they're trying to say that he served from birth, that means Hale was at youngest in his fifties!
Tell me again how it's Lindir's fucking fault, Torrin. Just try it!
Anyway, Duncan asks if Carillon will serve the qu'mahlin when he's king, and Carillon says "gently" that when he's king, Duncan will know.
...it's a better exit line than Alix's, admittedly. But I feel it might be okay to reassure the genocide victim that you're not going to continue it, Carillon.
So yay, that was a trainwreck of a chapter. The Shaine confrontation was narratively pointless. It didn't introduce any new tension to the plot (it's hard to accelerate from mass murder). Alix finally gets to do something and in doing so proves herself to be stupid and egotistical.
I will admit that Carillon has improved a lot here though. He seems to have broken free of his narrative mind control last chapter. He's protective of Alix without trampling over her wishes. He's still the only male character that seems to give a damn about consent. And it looks like he's starting to get over his racism. He certainly could have called the guards on Duncan at any time, but instead he chooses to help them. That's a good sign.
Hey, at this point, I'll take what I can get.
So anyway, this chapter we meet Shaine himself.
So of course, Alix is now dressed to the nines.
"Alix went before her grandsire in silks and velvets, girdled with gold and garnets. The rich brown fabrics whispered against her legs and fine slippers hugged her bruised feet. Her head felt heavy with the weight of her hair, laced with pearls and tiny garnets. Her ears ached dully with fresh piercing, but the gems glittering in them assuaged her pain."
Oh yes, I can see how reluctant Alix was to get dolled up, given that she apparently allowed Lorsilla to pierce her ears. And of course, her ears are neither red nor bleeding. Because we can't spoil this moment. God, I'm annoyed.
So anyway, Alix is now in an audience in front of a man who has ordered a twenty-five year long genocide. Carillon is standing next to her "radiat[ing] pride and confidence" while Shaine "dominate[s] the hall with inborn power and strength of will."
Shaine's standing in front of the lion throne, which admittedly does sound a lot swankier and more comfortable than the iron throne:
"Behind him, raised on grasping lion's claws, stood a carved throne banded with bronze and silver; cushioned in silks and velvets. Etched deeply within the throne was scrollwork of gold paint, and the wood gleamed with polishing. The scent of beeswax and power hung in the air."
I'm sorry, but I can't help laugh my ass off at "beeswax and power". The description is fine, for the most part, but "beeswax and power"? Really? Can I find that scent at Yankee Candle?
So anyway, Alix is understandably intimidated. She tries to concentrate on the fact that he's her grandfather. It doesn't help. Probably because he fucking ordered your father's people massacred? For fuck's sake, this isn't a Cinderella facing Lady Tremaine situation here.
"There is no forgiveness in this man . . . Alix realized."
No. Fucking. Shit.
I'm honestly not even sure what the point of this scene is. I feel like we're supposed to be having some sort of "girl meets mom's rich father who disowned her when she married a poor man, and gets to shout him down" sort of fantasy scenario. But Shaine isn't a rich snobby patriarch. He's is murdering people.
Anyway, after noting the lack of forgiveness in her genocidal maniac of a grandfather, Alix decides to be prideful.
"Accordingly, she lifted her head proudly and firmed her own mouth. Carillon stepped away from her, renouncing his right to speak for her, but it did not disturb her. She was beyond fear or reticence and let the instincts she had only sensed rule her actions. Her defiance flashed across the Great Hall to strike Shaine like a blow."
...it would serve her right if he just had her murdered right there, honestly. This is so fucking stupid.
Anyway, Shaine doesn't do that. Instead he notes that he sees nothing of Lindir in her, only "a shapechanger's stamp".
She asks what it tells him, and then we get another patented Jennifer Roberson conversation that doesn't quite work for me.
He stared at her, face taut and remote. "It tells me you have no place here. It speaks to me of treachery and sorcery, and a Cheysuli curse."
"But you admit it is true I might be Lindir's child."
A flicker shadowed the gray eyes a moment. Alix could sense Shaine's consideration of rejecting her outright, but she knew his pride too well for that. He would not quail before acknowledging his wish to rid himself of a halfling child, even at birth.
"Carillon says you are that child," he said finally. "Also that Torrin had the raising of you. So you may call yourself Lindir's child if you wish—it does you no good. I will not acknowledge you."
"I did not come expecting acknowledgment."
His dark brows rose. "You did not? I find that difficult to believe."
Alix kept her hands away from the golden girdle with effort, fighting down her nervousness. "I came because I wished to see the man who could cast out a child and curse an entire race. I came to see the man who began the qu'mahlin."
1. Honestly, Shaine's being a lot more patient here than I would expect. I mean this dude ordered a massacre. He's face to face with a Cheysuli woman. One whose birth inspired him to renew the qu'mahlin. He'd ordered her never to come to the capitol. And all he says is that he will not acknowledge her.
In a way, I appreciate it. It implies some depth. Obviously Shaine is a monster. But he's not immediately ordering her killed. He's not even ordering her to never mention their familial connection. It might imply that he does still retain some love for his daughter, deep down.
But given how awful the book has been so far, it's very hard to give Ms. Roberson the benefit of the doubt here. I think she just forgot what kind of man Shaine was, or is glossing over it, to give Alix this victory.
2. It's interesting that Shaine implies that Carillon is the one who told him that Torrin raised her. Torrin's version of events had indicated that Shaine knew and ordered him away. I'm going to look at this in a Watsonian way as opposed to a possible Doyleist reading that Ms. Roberson forgot her own narrative: Torrin had no reason to lie, and Shaine would have noticed when an important figure in his court left to become a minor landowner. So Shaine likely did know, but he's keeping up a polite fiction that he didn't and therefore can avoid retaliating against Torrin for not obeying.
3. The narrative's shifted again. Now we're back to Alix wanting to come here all along. As opposed to chickening out and having Carillon inexplicably force her. Okay then.
4. Alix didn't want acknowledgement of course, but the book wasn't going to pass up a chance to doll her up. That's probably why Alix conveniently forgot to get a change of clothes from her own house. If she looked nice in commoner garb, there'd be less reason to dress her in finery.
5. I really think we should have heard about Alix's desire to "see the man who began the qu'mahlin" before this. Up until this point, it had sounded like she wanted an acknowledgment. And you know, I wouldn't necessarily have blamed her for that if the book would have fucking committed to the idea. Alix is an innocent, raised in a loving household. I could understand a young girl like that harboring a secret hope that if she came face to face with her grandfather, that he would acknowledge her and change his ways. It's stupid of course, but a stupid that comes of youth and overconfidence.
This motive is both more realistic (in the sense that she doesn't expect to be welcomed), but it's also even stupider.
Look, I think most people have that one relative that they'd love to confront for some reason or another. But there's a difference between calling your grandfather an asshole for how he treated your dad, and this!
If I were Jewish, and my grandfather was Hitler, I wouldn't be going into Nazi Berlin to have a fucking shouting match.
And oh boy, is this ever a stupid shouting match:
Shaine tells her not to use "shapechanger words". Alix points out that he'd welcomed them once. Yes, pre-genocide. Shaine says that he was deceived, but he'll take retribution for it.
And this bit is something else:
Alix lifted her head in a reflection of his arrogance. "Is what Lindir did worth the destruction of an entire race, my lord? Do you seek to be no better than Bellam of Solinde, who wants only to humble this land?"
Carillon drew a quick breath of dismay but she paid it no heed. She held Shame's eyes with her own and felt the power in the man. She began to wonder, deep within her soul, if she had not her own measure of it.
I'm with you, Carillon. Look, Alix, you're right of course. But you're in front of a king, in his own castle! For some contrived reason he hasn't killed you yet. THAT CAN CHANGE AT ANY TIME.
As it does: Shaine says harshly, that she's Cheysuli and is subject to death.
Alix asks him if he would have her slain, then. Um, Alix. Yes? Keep up?
He just repeats that Cheysuli are under penalty of death.
Carillon steps in now, pointing out that what Lindir had done was "long ago and best forgotten" He urges Shaine not to cast Alix away again.
Now Shaine and Carillon argue, and I like this a lot more. Namely because, as Shaine's heir and only living male relative, Carillon has some guarantee of his own safety. Carillon is also considerably more polite than Alix is.
It still starts to go badly, as Shaine suggests that the Cheysuli used sorcery on him and asks if he must disinherit him. Carillon doesn't flinch:
"You may do as you will, my lord, but it seems futile to disinherit the only possible heir to Homana's throne. Did you not live through too many empty years in hopes of getting one before?"
"Carillon!"
"You have made me your heir," he said steadily. "But it does not take my humanity from me."
...okay, that's a pretty awesome moment. Carillon might be growing on me.
Shaine orders Carillon out, and Alix steps up again. Shaine's starting to lose it, calling her a "shapechanger witch". And then Alix hears a chiming tone in her mind: it's Cai, who tells her that "this petty lord cannot harm you".
I'm not sure a man who has ordered a massacre of an entire race can really be called a "petty lord", but birds are like that, I suppose.
Anyway, unfortunately, this gives Alix confidence. She tells Shaine that he rules only "through the sufferance of the Cheysuli" and he owes them more than he admits. Shaine roars that he'll drive them out of the land and he'll see them destroyed.
Alix tells him he'll destroy the heart of Homana and that he doesn't deserve to be king. And while I'm happy that this no longer feels like a disowned heir yelling at her rich granddad, I still think that there is nothing natural or realistic about any of this.
He's about to hit her, and she calls Cai to her. It's very dramatic, and Alix begins to understand the magic of her blood and what it means to be Cheysuli.
Honestly, it'd serve them right if Shaine ordered an archer to shoot Cai while he's flying, but for some reason there doesn't seem to be any guards in the throne room. He orders her to leave, and her response is...ugh...
"Willingly, my lord grandsire," she said clearly. "Nor will I suffer a foolishly vain man longer than I must."
His face contorted. "Leave this place before I have my guard take you!"
Alix was so angry she ached with it. She turned her rigid back on the Mujhar and walked to me open doors at the end of the ball. There she swung around once more.
"I see now why Lindir took her leave of you, my lord. I only wonder she did not do it sooner."
My head hurts.
I know I've been wanting Alix to do something. And I guess that a part of me admires her ambition. If you're finally going to shout down someone, then you might as well go for the top. But this is all so aggravating. Alix's moment is triumphant only because Shaine is a) conveniently unguarded, and b) seemed to have forgotten that he could order her death at any time.
And don't get me started on the sheer childishness of her last lines. Let's insult the genocidal monster. That totally accomplishes...something.
Ms. Roberson could have done something interesting with this confrontation. She could have had Alix try to kill Shaine, intent on stopping the qu'mahlin that came about because of her parents' actions. She would have failed, of course, but it would have established Alix as someone who is fearless and determined, wanting to right wrongs. Cai can save her life, and the plot can go on from there.
Or okay, Alix isn't really the fighter type. But she's young and idealistic. Let's use that instead. Alix has always lived in a loving household and can't really imagine a parent who doesn't, on some level, love their child. So Alix comes to Shaine, hoping that he'll see Lindir in her and let her try to talk him out of the qu'mahlin. Again, she'd fail, of course. But it would establish Alix as someone who is innocent and a little foolish, but still well-meaning. Someone who wants to use her advantages to help others, and is willing to put herself in potentially dangerous situations because there's a chance she can do good.
But Ms. Roberson didn't go in either of those directions. Instead, Alix forced this confrontation with Shaine specifically because she wanted to see him and insult him to his face. She spares no thought, at any point, to the number of people that he's already had killed. She puts a man that she theoretically loves at risk as well. And she leaves triumphant because she managed to toss a few insults his way.
Basically, this entire chapter was about feeding Alix's ego.
So anyway, Alix leaves the palace. She realizes that she's still wearing the clothes and jewels from the palace, and she decides that she'll keep them, if only to have a legacy of her mother. Whatever, Alix.
Actually, to be fair, I would normally approve of this. But right now I am quite sick of Alix.
Anyway, she's leaving very quickly, because Shaine doesn't take insults well and she doesn't want to end up in the dungeons. I'm still not sure how she even made it out of the throne room. Are there no guards anywhere?
As she leaves, she's caught by a looming figure: Duncan of course. Alix shouts in surprise, but Duncan quiets her down. She (idiotically) points out that this is Homana-Mujhar and Shaine will kill him. (Apparently Alix is now on a first name basis with her grandfather. Probably because it's clumsy to say Homana-Mujhar and Mujhar in the same sentence. But still, it's weird.). Duncan says that'll happen only if he finds out Duncan was there, which he might, if Alix keeps shouting.
Duncan drags her into hiding and asks if she's learned what she wanted, and has now seen what it's like to be a Cheysuli in Shaine's presence. Alix insists that it's something she had to do. (You really didn't, Alix). And Duncan says that she's no better than Lindir, and "The Mujhar's get are willful women."
...I hate every fucking person in this story. I really do.
Ugh, is this chapter not done yet?
So anyway, Alix goes along with Duncan happily for a while, then stops short when she remembers that he was her kidnapper. And we get this idiocy:
"Duncan, I told you to let me be when Carillon came for me. Why have you come?"
He shifted slightly. Faint torchlight illuminated his face and showed her an odd glint in his yellow eyes. He smiled coldly.
"You said I must do as my brother to stop you. I let you go then. I will not do it again."
"Let me be!"
"You are Cheysuli," he said flatly. "You have a place with your clan."
"I refuse it!"
His hands clamped on her arms, hurting .her. He ignored her wince of pain. "Alix, you will have us found if you persist. What sense is it to have us both slain in the name of Shaine's purge?"
"If you do not explain yourself I will shout for the guardsmen. I am surprised they have not found you already, if they are so skilled."
He laughed softly. "The Cheysuli move in silence, small one."
He paused significantly. "Except, perhaps, for you."
She glared at him. A strange sense of defiance and exhilaration crept into her heart and nearly consumed her. She smiled at him in vindictive joy and opened her mouth as if to cry out.
Duncan silenced her instantly. This time be did not use his hand. Alix, shocked to the core, felt herself caught in a harsh embrace and kissed as if he would take the soul from her.
She stiffened instantly, pressing palms against his chest to push him away. In that moment she realized the absolute strength of a determined man and was amazed by it. She sought to escape but was trapped within his arms.
Alix shuddered once, recalling Finn's harshness and the instinctive fear he had provoked. Then, oddly, the thought fell away.
A new awareness slid through her as Duncan's mouth moved on hers. It was imperceptive, yet she felt it, and he no longer forced her. The pain he had inflicted at first was gone, altering in some subtle fashion. When a second shiver coursed through her it was of another origin.
Duncan is not his brother, she thought dazedly, and I do not fear this man . . ."
1. Alix, did you forget that you're running from the castle because you just insulted the king?
2. Isn't there a better time and place to have this conversation?
3. I'd be all on board with not going with your kidnapper here, Alix, but maybe just run instead of shouting at him?
4. And I'm so glad sexual assault runs in this family.
I hate all of these people.
Anyway, Alix asks if this is his tahlmorra. Duncan notes that he may not have to wait so long after all. (Ew.) This bit is special too:
"I have come to you as Finn, forcing myself on a woman who does not wish it." he said grimly. "Have I earned me enmity you promised?"
"I have forgot what I said."
I hate these people so damn much.
Anyway, eventually he does back off a little noting that she's too young to understand. Alix tells him that she thinks no woman is too young to understand. Because what's a little pedophilia apologia between friends.
I never thought I'd say this but thank god, Carillon interrupts them. He is not happy to see Duncan, but he doesn't attack. He tells Alix that she's driven Shaine into a rage, and he's sworn to have the hawk hunted down and to have Alix exiled and imprisoned on the Crystal Isle.
It occurs to me that at no point did Alix express any concern for Carillon when she left, despite Shaine threatening to disinherit him. That was probably an empty threat, but still.
Anyway, Carillon says he'll take Alix back to Torrin's croft. I...feel like Shaine can probably find her there, dude. Duncan says that Alix will come with him. Carillon asks if Duncan speaks for her and calls him shapechanger. Good question, but knock it off with the racial epithets dude.
Duncan tells him that he has no place in this, and "She is not for you."
Alix FINALLY speaks up, telling Carillon that something happened to her in the hall. When Shaine called her a witch and cursed her blood, she felt no shame, horror or fear. She felt like the Cheysuli in her finally came to life. Now she wants to leave. Fair enough.
She tells Carillon that what's between them must stay unknown or unnamed, and tells him that the Cheysuli aren't his enemies. She reminds him that he said he'd accept her whatever she was, now she wants him to accept the others.
It takes a bit more convincing, but when she makes it clear that she's going willingly with Duncan, and that she's not ensorcelled, Carillon offers to get them mounts. That turns out to be unnecessary, so he walks them out himself.
Carillon is definitely starting to grow on me. Maybe it's just because I hate everyone else so much.
Anyway, Duncan and Carillon have another talk about the qu'mahlin, but this one doesn't actually feel repetitive. Duncan reminds Carillon that Shaine won't be king forever. He mentions that the Cheysuli are down to a quarter of their number and more keep dying. He says it's up to Carillon to stop it.
Carillon asks why he should, when he was raised on the tales of their demonic arts, et cetera. I am reminded that Carillon is only a year older than Alix is, and the qu'mahlin has been in effect his entire life.
Duncan says that he should do it "for the woman we both want." Alix is of course a sexy lamp in this scene and contributes nothing.
Carillon admits that Shaine's vehemence "alarms him", and that he doesn't curse Bellam or the Ihlini in the same way he does the Cheysuli.
Oh, ew, ew, ew. Duncan notes that Hale served Shaine for thirty-five years before he shattered that bond and hereditary service. He points out that Shaine lost a daughter and found his realm suddenly at war again. He understands Shaine.
So, hey, remember how Torrin talked about how eighteen year old Lindir led Hale astray? Hale had been serving Shaine for THIRTY-FIVE YEARS. Unless they're trying to say that he served from birth, that means Hale was at youngest in his fifties!
Tell me again how it's Lindir's fucking fault, Torrin. Just try it!
Anyway, Duncan asks if Carillon will serve the qu'mahlin when he's king, and Carillon says "gently" that when he's king, Duncan will know.
...it's a better exit line than Alix's, admittedly. But I feel it might be okay to reassure the genocide victim that you're not going to continue it, Carillon.
So yay, that was a trainwreck of a chapter. The Shaine confrontation was narratively pointless. It didn't introduce any new tension to the plot (it's hard to accelerate from mass murder). Alix finally gets to do something and in doing so proves herself to be stupid and egotistical.
I will admit that Carillon has improved a lot here though. He seems to have broken free of his narrative mind control last chapter. He's protective of Alix without trampling over her wishes. He's still the only male character that seems to give a damn about consent. And it looks like he's starting to get over his racism. He certainly could have called the guards on Duncan at any time, but instead he chooses to help them. That's a good sign.
Hey, at this point, I'll take what I can get.
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Date: 2019-11-11 06:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-11 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-12 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-08-25 08:07 am (UTC)"Beeswax and power" is quite funny.
"There is no forgiveness in this man . . . Alix realized."
You don't say!!
I think this confrontation would already work better if it were someone from Shaine's court, for example.
Ooh, now Carillon does it. That is much better!
I get that it would be nice to have Alix call him out, but this just has no realism at all! Also, if Shaine is like this, then why is he still a danger?!
Duncan says that'll happen only if he finds out Duncan was there, which he might, if Alix keeps shouting.
The guards should have found out about him either way! What, are Shaine and Lorsilla usually the only people in the palace?
Arrrrgh!
I definitely like Carillon, too!
Unless they're trying to say that he served from birth, that means Hale was at youngest in his fifties!
...Why did he have a relation with someone of eighteen, then? I think Roberson didn't bother to think it through, but still.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-26 06:06 pm (UTC)