Vanehald
In which the world-shield is right where they left it.
It occurs to me that it might turn out to be an advantage that Commander Gorriti ran away before the trouble started. If he’d still been in charge, I suspect he’d have been more of a hindrance than a help.
And this would appear to be, more or less, the end of the subplot about the world-shield – which I’d completely forgotten before I began this re-read, even though it’s Jela’s motivation all the way through. I think it failed to sink in the first time I read these books because, reading them as a prequel, I already knew that the world-shield wasn’t going to be the thing that mattered in the end.
Regarding the world-shield: Agreed.
A pivotal chapter. Rool warns Jela the Shereikas are sending M-type soldiers (“your kindred”) to attack Vaneheld, just as Tree tried and TRIED to tell Jela. Lol. I must say, Tree’s picture-language tree is charming.
Rool also tells Jela that Cantra is preggies, carrying his son. I hope that knowledge gave Jela comfort, when he faced his final battle (not in this chapter, just thinking ahead). To me, a female reader, these emotional events are key to the success of the book. I suppose the author team knew that relationships and family matters would be interesting to at least half their readership. (Not that the plot doesn’t matter, too.)
To me, a male reader, the emotional events are also key to the success of the book; I’m just not very good at talking about them.
Ah, good to know. I guess I misunderstood a previous comment you made, about emotional stuff.
Rool Tiazan delights in whisking other people about. I don’t think he quite understands the effect on other people, a trait shared by other dramliz. But, at least, he is kindly inclined toward Jela and the others.
Yes, his little whisking trick created a fun little shock for Dulsey et al. Haha.
I have read (cannot recall which book) that Anthora yos’Galan is one of the strongest dramliz since Rool Tiazan.
My guess on your comment about Anthora is Plan B or I Dare. But Ren Zel is more the one who flips others around with the Ley lines.
Yes, true. Ren Zel is a frighteningly powerful wizard. I was thinking he could just bring the sun a bit closer to Surebleak. Lol.
As for Commander Gorriti, having now read all the books, I can see how we ended up with the nasty Yxtrang culture seen in the modern Liaden Universe. It seems like modern Zxtrang commanders embody the worst character traits of Gorriti and all the other soldiers who fled the beleaguered rim planets (Jela calls them deserters). But of course, all the honorable troops gave their lives defending the planets, and so perhaps the percentages were skewed for a troop decline. Makes me wonder if the Pathfinder’s commander ever met Goritti.
What on earth (well, not on earth, on Vanehald) is this world shield? It seems all Cantra found was a tangle of burnt looking wire…crumpled into a shallow depression lined with…timonium. All within a cermacrete room. Hmmm…magic?
Well, in ch 19, Dulsey asks Cantra to ferry away some of the First Phase artifacts from Vanehald….
“We have already excavated more artifacts than we can ship”