Song of Homana - Part One - Chapter Nine
Jul. 8th, 2020 12:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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i_read_whatSo last time, Carillon met his awesome mom, reunited with Alix (who continues to get the short straw even in this much better book) and revealed yet again his fixation on his best friend.
As you recall, Carillon decided he had to bathe first before meeting Finn. So we start out with the obligatory Witcher-style bath scene. He's bathing in a half-cask which is too small to really hold him, but he appreciates it anyway. Eventually he relaxes enough to fall asleep.
Carillon wakes up when someone says his name. Finn, of course. Finn apparently saw no need to wait outside the bathing area and is apparently enjoying the sight:
I sat upright and pulled my legs back in, scowling at him. Finn merely smiled, amused to find me in such a state, and leaned back against the wall with bare arms folded across his chest. He had put off his winter leathers in deference to the thaw; I saw again the heavy gold that banded his arms above the elbows. Wide, beautiful things, embossed with runes and wolf-shape. He wore snug leathers again: leggings and a sleeveless jerkin. At his belt hung the Steppes knife, and I thought again of the sorcery I had seen.
...I'm glad to see that the first thing Carillon and Finn do when they reunite is downright ogle each other. I see you noticing those "snug leggings", Carillon. Get a room.
So, Finn asks "quite calmly" when Carillon got back. Oh actually this is amazing:
“When did you get back?” he asked quite calmly.
I stood up, dripping, and reached for the blanket he tossed to me from Torrin’s pallet. “Not so long ago that I have had time to fill my belly.”
“But time for a bath.” His tone was perfectly flat, but I had little trouble discerning his intent. I had not had that trouble for some years now.
My god. Finn, when did you turn into a jealous fishwife? Get a room!
So Carillon explains that if Finn had seen/smelled him, he'd have pushed him in himself. He's decided to go see the army and asks Finn to come along. Finn smiles ironically at the thought of calling Carillon's modest troops an army. Carillon defends his men, pointing out that Rowan's done a lot to assemble these men and that he can't expect to raise the thousands that Bellam has.
Finn thinks it makes no difference, because Carillon has the Cheysuli.
I scoffed. “I have you. And no doubt Duncan, and perhaps those he has managed to persuade to join me in the name of the prophecy.” I scooped up a clay jug of Torrin’s sour wine and poured myself a cup, pouring a second for Finn as he nodded willingness to drink.
I posted this snippet just for "I have you."
But Finn didn't come empty handed. He's come bringing one hell of a courtship gift. He drags it out a bit, asking how many Cheysuli that Carillon would ask for, if he could have a higher number. Carillon says, taking the Cheysuli fighting ability into account and the lir, that he'd be very pleased with one hundred men.
Finn brought three hundred. Best boyfriend ever.
I can't believe I just said that about FINN.
So here we get to the MASSIVE retcon from Shapechangers, the one that Lachlan had hinted earlier about when he said "which Keep". Duncan and Finn's clan is not the last Cheysuli clan. Apparently there are a lot of places in the Northern Wastes where a clan can hide, and Finn, looking for his own, happened to find them. He brought them all.
Now this retcon does have a funny effect on my perception of Duncan's leadership. In Shapechangers, we were told a lot how Duncan is this amazing leader. But apparently he never once thought to send someone out to LOOK for any other survivors. His clan was small enough that every single adult man could fit in a single pavilion, and he's too busy authorizing the kidnap and rape of Homanan women to breed more children that they can't protect anyway, to MAKE SURE that they're not the only one left.
Finn found these clans BY ACCIDENT.
I whooped. And then I was on my feet, clasping him in my arms as if I could not let him go. No doubt too demonstrative for Finn’s sensibilities, but he knew the reason. And he smiled, stepping away when I was done.
“My gift to you,” he said lightly. “Now, come with me and I will show you.”
No, really, go bang first. You've earned it.
As they ride out, Finn notices that Carillon's got a new horse and obliquely asks him about the trip to Joyenne. Carillon vents his frustration about Bellam holding Tourmaline and his threat to marry her. I still have no idea why the man waited so long. What if Carillon died in battle and never came back. Finn notes that "it is the way of kings. Especially usurper kings." which is a line that I didn't think very much about before I read Shapechangers and remembered what that said about Cheysuli practices.
It's also an interesting bit of foreshadowing.
Anyway, Finn disapproves very much of Carillon's misadventure, noting his bruises when Carillon tries to downplay it. And oh my god, they're married.
“Ah.” Finn nodded in apparent satisfaction. “No trouble at Joyenne, you say, but an Ihlini set a beast on you.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Why should I concern myself with your welfare? All you manage to do is tangle with one of Tynstar’s minions.”
His irony, as ever, galled me. “Enough. It was not my fault the men found me. They could have found me here.”
“Men? First it was an Ihlini and his beast. Now there are more.” He gestured to direct me up the bill.
I glared at him. “Why not just compel me to tell you the truth, as you did Lachlan?”
“Because I had believed you knew enough to tell me willingly.”
God. So married.
Finn actually gets kind of emotional here:
“I have no reason to worry,” he agreed. “What have I done, save swear a blood-oath to serve you always?” For the first time a hint of anger crept into his voice. “Do you think I waste my time? Do you wish to do this alone? Think how many times over you would have been slain without me. And now, when I leave you to seek my clan—at your behest—you place yourself in such jeopardy even a child knows better.”
“Finn—enough.”
“Not enough.” He glared at me openly now. “There is some little of my life invested in you. All of it, now. What we do is not entirely for you, Carillon, and for Homana, but for the Cheysuli as well.” His mouth tightened as he reined his horse back even with mine. “Were you to die now, in some foolish endeavor of your own devising, the rebellion would fail. Bellam would rule forevermore. He would likely wed your sister, get new sons on her, and put them on the throne behind himself. Is that what you wish?”
I reached out and caught his reins, jerking his horse to a halt. All the anger and frustration came pouring out as pride. “I am your prince!”
“And I your liege man!” He ignored the jerk of the reins against his hands. “Do you think it is so easy for me to watch you as a father with a son? I am not your jehan, Carillon, merely your liege man. And a cousin, of a sort, because my jehan saw fit to lie with a haughty Homanan princess when he had a cheysula at home!”
Carillon, Finn doesn't want to be a father to you. AND I feel like bringing up how his dad banged a Homanan royal was not an accident either.
I mentioned how much I love that Song actually addresses the fact that it was Finn's father whose mistakes helped bring about the qu'mahlin. And that he abandoned his family to do it. One of the many terrible things about Shapechangers was how it cast Lindir to blame for the affair, as though Hale wasn't a grown man more than twice her age, with a wife and child already. But Song's Finn places far more blame on Hale than Lindir.
Their lover's spat goes on a bit longer, with Carillon bitterly reminding Finn that he can leave his service, and Finn claiming that the gods tied them together, and I refrain from making a bondage joke. Then Carillon asks Finn what he wants from this life. This is something that apparently Carillon has never asked before.
Finn is surprised by this. His first answer is true but also not quite the answer Carillon is looking for. He wants Carillon on the throne. (Aw. Get a room). When asked what else: The Cheysuli free to live as they would again.
Carillon pushes harder though, if he could have ANYTHING at all:
Finn asks if Carillon has met Donal yet. And here's where I honestly expected him to say Alix. But actually no, he mentioned Donal because, if he could have anything, it would be a son.
Ouch. That IS something that Carillon won't be able to give you dude. But there's always adoption?
So anyway, they approach the Keep and Carillon hears harp music. Finn seems to have a bit of a new respect for Lachlan, who has been coming every day to share his music with the Cheysuli and it's had a very positive effect on everyone's morale. Finally they make it to the "Keep".
Right now, it's not really a Keep. No wall or proper pavilions. It's just a scattering of tents throughout the forest. Finn notes that this set up is more easily defensible and torn down if they have to move quickly. They'll rebuild a true Keep when Homana is safe. That makes a certain amount of sense. Slowly it sinks in for Carillon that his not-so-unrequited boyfriend just brought him an army of magic warriors.
I shook my head, suddenly overcome. “I am not worthy of it all…” In that moment, I was certain of it. I was not up to the task.
“Are you not,” my liege man said simply, “no man is.”
When I could, I rode farther into the Keep. And thanked the gods for the Cheysuli.
Oh god, you idiots. Get a fucking room.
As you recall, Carillon decided he had to bathe first before meeting Finn. So we start out with the obligatory Witcher-style bath scene. He's bathing in a half-cask which is too small to really hold him, but he appreciates it anyway. Eventually he relaxes enough to fall asleep.
Carillon wakes up when someone says his name. Finn, of course. Finn apparently saw no need to wait outside the bathing area and is apparently enjoying the sight:
I sat upright and pulled my legs back in, scowling at him. Finn merely smiled, amused to find me in such a state, and leaned back against the wall with bare arms folded across his chest. He had put off his winter leathers in deference to the thaw; I saw again the heavy gold that banded his arms above the elbows. Wide, beautiful things, embossed with runes and wolf-shape. He wore snug leathers again: leggings and a sleeveless jerkin. At his belt hung the Steppes knife, and I thought again of the sorcery I had seen.
...I'm glad to see that the first thing Carillon and Finn do when they reunite is downright ogle each other. I see you noticing those "snug leggings", Carillon. Get a room.
So, Finn asks "quite calmly" when Carillon got back. Oh actually this is amazing:
“When did you get back?” he asked quite calmly.
I stood up, dripping, and reached for the blanket he tossed to me from Torrin’s pallet. “Not so long ago that I have had time to fill my belly.”
“But time for a bath.” His tone was perfectly flat, but I had little trouble discerning his intent. I had not had that trouble for some years now.
My god. Finn, when did you turn into a jealous fishwife? Get a room!
So Carillon explains that if Finn had seen/smelled him, he'd have pushed him in himself. He's decided to go see the army and asks Finn to come along. Finn smiles ironically at the thought of calling Carillon's modest troops an army. Carillon defends his men, pointing out that Rowan's done a lot to assemble these men and that he can't expect to raise the thousands that Bellam has.
Finn thinks it makes no difference, because Carillon has the Cheysuli.
I scoffed. “I have you. And no doubt Duncan, and perhaps those he has managed to persuade to join me in the name of the prophecy.” I scooped up a clay jug of Torrin’s sour wine and poured myself a cup, pouring a second for Finn as he nodded willingness to drink.
I posted this snippet just for "I have you."
But Finn didn't come empty handed. He's come bringing one hell of a courtship gift. He drags it out a bit, asking how many Cheysuli that Carillon would ask for, if he could have a higher number. Carillon says, taking the Cheysuli fighting ability into account and the lir, that he'd be very pleased with one hundred men.
Finn brought three hundred. Best boyfriend ever.
I can't believe I just said that about FINN.
So here we get to the MASSIVE retcon from Shapechangers, the one that Lachlan had hinted earlier about when he said "which Keep". Duncan and Finn's clan is not the last Cheysuli clan. Apparently there are a lot of places in the Northern Wastes where a clan can hide, and Finn, looking for his own, happened to find them. He brought them all.
Now this retcon does have a funny effect on my perception of Duncan's leadership. In Shapechangers, we were told a lot how Duncan is this amazing leader. But apparently he never once thought to send someone out to LOOK for any other survivors. His clan was small enough that every single adult man could fit in a single pavilion, and he's too busy authorizing the kidnap and rape of Homanan women to breed more children that they can't protect anyway, to MAKE SURE that they're not the only one left.
Finn found these clans BY ACCIDENT.
I whooped. And then I was on my feet, clasping him in my arms as if I could not let him go. No doubt too demonstrative for Finn’s sensibilities, but he knew the reason. And he smiled, stepping away when I was done.
“My gift to you,” he said lightly. “Now, come with me and I will show you.”
No, really, go bang first. You've earned it.
As they ride out, Finn notices that Carillon's got a new horse and obliquely asks him about the trip to Joyenne. Carillon vents his frustration about Bellam holding Tourmaline and his threat to marry her. I still have no idea why the man waited so long. What if Carillon died in battle and never came back. Finn notes that "it is the way of kings. Especially usurper kings." which is a line that I didn't think very much about before I read Shapechangers and remembered what that said about Cheysuli practices.
It's also an interesting bit of foreshadowing.
Anyway, Finn disapproves very much of Carillon's misadventure, noting his bruises when Carillon tries to downplay it. And oh my god, they're married.
“Ah.” Finn nodded in apparent satisfaction. “No trouble at Joyenne, you say, but an Ihlini set a beast on you.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Why should I concern myself with your welfare? All you manage to do is tangle with one of Tynstar’s minions.”
His irony, as ever, galled me. “Enough. It was not my fault the men found me. They could have found me here.”
“Men? First it was an Ihlini and his beast. Now there are more.” He gestured to direct me up the bill.
I glared at him. “Why not just compel me to tell you the truth, as you did Lachlan?”
“Because I had believed you knew enough to tell me willingly.”
God. So married.
Finn actually gets kind of emotional here:
“I have no reason to worry,” he agreed. “What have I done, save swear a blood-oath to serve you always?” For the first time a hint of anger crept into his voice. “Do you think I waste my time? Do you wish to do this alone? Think how many times over you would have been slain without me. And now, when I leave you to seek my clan—at your behest—you place yourself in such jeopardy even a child knows better.”
“Finn—enough.”
“Not enough.” He glared at me openly now. “There is some little of my life invested in you. All of it, now. What we do is not entirely for you, Carillon, and for Homana, but for the Cheysuli as well.” His mouth tightened as he reined his horse back even with mine. “Were you to die now, in some foolish endeavor of your own devising, the rebellion would fail. Bellam would rule forevermore. He would likely wed your sister, get new sons on her, and put them on the throne behind himself. Is that what you wish?”
I reached out and caught his reins, jerking his horse to a halt. All the anger and frustration came pouring out as pride. “I am your prince!”
“And I your liege man!” He ignored the jerk of the reins against his hands. “Do you think it is so easy for me to watch you as a father with a son? I am not your jehan, Carillon, merely your liege man. And a cousin, of a sort, because my jehan saw fit to lie with a haughty Homanan princess when he had a cheysula at home!”
Carillon, Finn doesn't want to be a father to you. AND I feel like bringing up how his dad banged a Homanan royal was not an accident either.
I mentioned how much I love that Song actually addresses the fact that it was Finn's father whose mistakes helped bring about the qu'mahlin. And that he abandoned his family to do it. One of the many terrible things about Shapechangers was how it cast Lindir to blame for the affair, as though Hale wasn't a grown man more than twice her age, with a wife and child already. But Song's Finn places far more blame on Hale than Lindir.
Their lover's spat goes on a bit longer, with Carillon bitterly reminding Finn that he can leave his service, and Finn claiming that the gods tied them together, and I refrain from making a bondage joke. Then Carillon asks Finn what he wants from this life. This is something that apparently Carillon has never asked before.
Finn is surprised by this. His first answer is true but also not quite the answer Carillon is looking for. He wants Carillon on the throne. (Aw. Get a room). When asked what else: The Cheysuli free to live as they would again.
Carillon pushes harder though, if he could have ANYTHING at all:
Finn asks if Carillon has met Donal yet. And here's where I honestly expected him to say Alix. But actually no, he mentioned Donal because, if he could have anything, it would be a son.
Ouch. That IS something that Carillon won't be able to give you dude. But there's always adoption?
So anyway, they approach the Keep and Carillon hears harp music. Finn seems to have a bit of a new respect for Lachlan, who has been coming every day to share his music with the Cheysuli and it's had a very positive effect on everyone's morale. Finally they make it to the "Keep".
Right now, it's not really a Keep. No wall or proper pavilions. It's just a scattering of tents throughout the forest. Finn notes that this set up is more easily defensible and torn down if they have to move quickly. They'll rebuild a true Keep when Homana is safe. That makes a certain amount of sense. Slowly it sinks in for Carillon that his not-so-unrequited boyfriend just brought him an army of magic warriors.
I shook my head, suddenly overcome. “I am not worthy of it all…” In that moment, I was certain of it. I was not up to the task.
“Are you not,” my liege man said simply, “no man is.”
When I could, I rode farther into the Keep. And thanked the gods for the Cheysuli.
Oh god, you idiots. Get a fucking room.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-08 05:55 pm (UTC)Get a room and get married guys, you clearly both want to!
no subject
Date: 2020-07-08 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-07 05:09 pm (UTC)I really like Finn and Carillon's dynamic by now. :)
Good on Finn for bringing such a large fighting force! He's been considerably more useful in this book than he was in the previous one, I'd say.
Yeah, even if there weren't any other clans out there, he should at least have sent people out to check rather than assuming there are none, and I don't remember him doing so in Shapechangers...
I find myself siding with Finn in their argument (because Carillon really can't be replaced), and I can quite see why you found that weird; I wouldn't have done so in the previous book, either!
Does Finn ever get a son? I don't remember enough of the family tree to say for sure.
I'll see you for the next chapter, then!
no subject
Date: 2026-02-07 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-07 09:27 pm (UTC)That's a great way to keep me reading, so I'll indeed see that!