Local Custom – Chapter 39

In which equitable solutions are found for a number of problems.

It’s interesting that Syntebra el’Kemin is apparently not averse to Luken’s attentions. I mean, I totally understand that she might feel more comfortable with him than with his sharper-witted relatives — but if she thought Er Thom old, what does that make Luken?

A thing I like about this chapter is how much warmth and care there is between (at least some of) the members of Clan Korval; between Er Thom and Daav, and between Daav and Luken. (And between Luken and nearly everybody?) I particularly love that, although Luken doesn’t fit in the Korval mould, Daav genuinely appreciates and respects him for who he is.

2 thoughts on “Local Custom – Chapter 39

  1. Paul A. Post author

    I didn’t think to include it in the entry, but there’s an important exchange in this chapter, referring to the life-bond between Anne and Er Thom:

    “Chance,” the Terran lady murmured, a flutter of panic through her steady, beautiful pattern. “Chance without choice.”

    “Choice was made,” A’thodelm yos’Galan said, “several times over.”

    I think this exchange is the most concise encapsulation in the series of the nature of the wizard’s match. It’s not predestination, not some kind of Only One True Love thing that makes puppets of the people it binds together; every time we see it develop, it’s a consequence, not a cause. Two people form a connection, and as the connection grows so does the wizard’s match form.

  2. Ed8r

    And the Healer says: even if they are separated by the length and breadth of the galaxy, still they will find each other. So once the bond does begin to form, it cannot be effectively broken.

    (a quibble: This mentions “only” the distance within a galaxy, but what if they are separated by the entire universe? {actually, I am assuming there would still be a connection, just they probably could not reach each other during their natural lifetimes})

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