The Gathering Edge – Chapter 3

Bechimo
Wyrd Space

In which some introductions take place.

It occurs to me to wonder if there’s some kind of familial connection between the norbears and the Trees. Then again, there might be species all over the place that communicate through mental images; we don’t really know.

A lot of the imagery Theo’s getting off of Tree Junior is familiar from back in the Crystal prequels: there’s the two dragons, which were Tree Senior’s images of Jela and Cantra, and the dream that’s recognizable as Jela’s memory of his first meeting with Tree Senior. It appears that Tree Junior comes complete with a copy of Tree Senior’s memories. (Which reminds me, among other things, of Jeeves and Tocohl.)

There’s a passing mention, way back in the first ever Liaden novel, of an Yxtrang ambassador, and the way the Yxtrang acted when we got to meet them later made me wonder what an Yxtrang ambassador might have to talk to non-Yxtrang about. It looks like we’re going to get an answer to that question.

I’m also curious about the statement that the death of the Ambassador would be unlikely to result in a squad of avenging soldiers. I thought at first that perhaps it meant that Fleeny Gorish was understating the case and that it would be a lot more than just a squad, but the hints about times changing is making me wonder. (So are the hints that there are Yxtrang who want something to happen to the Ambassador.) Perhaps having to go and make nice with non-Yxtrang is considered a punishment duty, and only given to people who are in bad odor with the high command.

It occurs to me that between Vepal and Hevelin, that’s two ambassadors in this novel. I wonder if they’ll meet.

I can see Theo’s point that hunkering down on Surebleak for safety is in some ways not that different from hunkering down in the wyrd space for safety. I was going to say that at least Surebleak has people to talk to and interesting stuff happening, but the wyrd space seems to be supplied with both of those…

I’ve been expecting the piece of flotsam that arrives at the end of the chapter. I assume it’s the ruined ship depicted in the cover illustration, and I suspect it’s the damaged ship from the prologue. I was going to say as much last chapter, but I decided to give it one more chapter and see if we had three chapters in a row priming us to expect another interesting bit of flotsam. (It did occur to me that the third time might be the actual arrival, but I figured I’d deal with that if it happened. And so here we are.)

2 thoughts on “The Gathering Edge – Chapter 3

  1. Ed8r

    PA: there’s the two dragons.

    Not only those two specific dragons, but Theo herself as a dragon, although she crashes to the floor before we get to see what color she is perceived to be. Also Interesting that we got images of Jela and Cantra, but nothing of Tor An. Was this little one separated from the Jelaza Kazone Laar before Tor An came into the picture?

  2. Othin

    2 reasons for Jela and not Tor An.
    1. Theo is Daavs daughter and the Tree treads her as yos’Phelium. (Ok, there were this genetically identic twins Chi and Petrella. – So genetically Theo can claim Jela as well as Tor An as ancestors.)
    2. From the Trees standpoint – Tor An was a new development and there is no way he or his little young dragonet (wasn’t he multicolored) can compete for emotional impact.

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