Tag Archives: Naord

Balance of Trade – Chapter 24

Day 139
Standard Year 1118

Irikwae

In which Jethri is here to learn trade and mountains.

It’s interesting that Norn ven’Deelin speaks of this as “coming home”, and makes one wonder how she would characterize returning to the house of her own clan on Liad.

Meicha and Miandra have something going on: they’re able to pick Jethri’s emotions out of his head – but perhaps not yet able to not do it, given their reactions when Jethri starts panicking (and I wonder if Ren Lar was picking up on that when he suggested it was time to end the meal). “Healer Hall has taken an interest in them”. The Delm is firm that they are not, however, dramliz – but something about the way it’s said makes me wonder if that’s an objective judgement or if there’s a stigma being carefully avoided. (Also, I wonder what it is that tips Norn ven’Deelin off about them.)

The subject of Liadens considering it impolite to mop one’s face in public is one that we will return to in more detail at a later date.

I wonder if Flinx is named (not by the characters, obviously, but perhaps by the authors) after the protagonist of Alan Dean Foster’s series of young adult novels; I can see some similarities between that Flinx and our Jethri.

Master ven’Deelin’s mention of Korval in the parlor is the first time they’ve been mentioned since Crystal Dragon (and if memory serves it will be some time again before they’re next mentioned).

Jethri’s assessment of the parlor as “smallish – maybe the size of Master ven’Deelin’s office on Elthoria” shows that he’s made some adjustments in the time since he first saw that office: back then, he was struck by how large it was.

Incidentally, it’s been nearly exactly a relumma since then, which means that in depositing Jethri on Irikwae for two relumma, Master ven’Deelin is proposing that they will be apart for almost twice as long as the entire time they’ve known each other. I can see that being worrying even without the addition of a Spacer’s horror of being left stranded.

I have a feeling that when Master ven’Deelin remarks on how careful Jethri is of her honor, she’s very gently pulling his leg. He does genuinely want to avoid doing her disservice, and I’m sure she genuinely appreciates it, but she only really makes a point of it when he’s trying to invoke a desire to avoid shaming her to get out of doing something without straight out saying he doesn’t want to do it.

Which, as I said, doesn’t mean that they don’t genuinely care about each other, and I love the scenes in this chapter which show that care.

Balance of Trade – Chapter 23

Day 135
Standard Year 1118

Elthoria

In which Jethri discovers a foster-granmam.

The narrative seems determined to show me a liar in the matter of Jethri’s lucky fractin. If I were the paranoid type, I might wonder if the amount of time it was absent was carefully calculated so that it would reappear just as one was sure it was gone for good.

Vil Tor and Gaenor don’t entirely succeed in unlocking the approaching situation for Jethri; he still has an unpleasant surprise waiting. This is not their fault; being, as Jethri notes, Grounders, they’re not aware of all the Spacer assumptions Jethri is bringing to bear on his understanding of what he’s been told.

It seems to be significant that both Vil Tor and Gaenor touch Jethri on the shoulder as they say their farewells, since the narrator makes a point of mentioning it, and I’m aware that Liadens generally don’t go in for casual physical contact. I’m not sure what it’s significant of, though, unless just how close their friendship has become.

Incidentally, I’m intrigued by Vil Tor, whose family name is never mentioned; even in the cast list he is only “Vil Tor” and nothing else.