Tag Archives: Vivulonj Prosperu

Dragon in Exile – Interlude 9

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Vivulonj Prosperu
In Transit

In which Daav is not yet ripe.

The thing the Uncle didn’t take into account in his plan to wake Daav up first and bring him up to speed while they were waiting for Aelliana to join them is that Aelliana’s presence has been a mainstay of Daav’s existence for decades. There’s a hint of the trouble in the Uncle’s reflection, just before his error makes itself known, that Daav will be inventorying himself and checking his memories: for Daav, that process would automatically include checking to make sure Aelliana is still there, and now she isn’t.

Daav’s first question is always going to be “Where’s Aelliana?”, and the Uncle’s not going to be able to wake him safely without having a satisfactory answer ready – with any answer other than “Right here” likely to prove unsatisfactory. He might, in the end, have to reverse his plan and leave Daav asleep until Aelliana’s conscious and up to speed.

Dragon in Exile – Interlude 3

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Vivulonj Prosperu
In Transit

In which the Uncle is informed of Daav and Aelliana’s decision.

In light of the earlier interlude, I don’t think the Uncle’s attribution of the decision to Daav is quite accurate, though it makes sense that he would think of Daav as the primary decision-maker when Daav is the most visible half of the partnership. It’s more a case of Aelliana, once again, acting to protect the vulnerable and preserve the clan’s resources.

More re-establishing of the situation from previous novels, with a nice seasoning of new details. We’re getting answers here to questions about the Uncle that have been lurking in the background of the series for a long time.

The reference to the Uncle having “guided captured intelligences, long accustomed to the bodiless state, into warm and waiting flesh” is intriguing. We haven’t seen anybody do that since the Enemy’s pet dramliz, way back in Crystal Dragon. (And then, it was generally bad news for the intelligence in question.) It raises so many questions: When did the Uncle do this? With which intelligences? With what aim in mind? (And is the mention of it now just adding richness to the backstory, or is it setting up a future plot development?)

Vivulonj Prosperu is presumably the name of the Uncle’s ship, which hasn’t been named up to now. It looks like it might be derived by some indirect method from the phrase “live long and prosper”, which is entirely appropriate, since that’s pretty much the Uncle’s goal.

Saltation – Chapter 40

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Volmer
Underport

In which Theo gets a better offer.

Though he mentions it casually, the Uncle’s account of Theo’s forefathers is a reminder that he Knows Things. Given Delgado’s emphasis on the maternal line, there aren’t many people who even know that Jen Sar Kiladi is Theo’s father, and the number of people who have accurate knowledge of Jen Sar’s ancestors is smaller yet. It raises questions about how the Uncle found out, and how long he’s known, and for that matter what led him to think it was a thing worth finding out about.

The ship Theo’s being offered, which possesses “both monetary and sentimental value”, is called Arin’s Toss, and was “built on an old Terran commissioner’s ship plan”. One recalls that Jethri’s father Arin was a Terran trade commissioner, and suspects a depth of history that’s not being elaborated on.

And the Uncle has a fractin in his money pouch. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one of those, long enough that it took me a couple of times reading those paragraphs to recognise what it was.

Saltation – Chapter 39

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Primadonna
Volmer

In which Theo meets a Dulsey and an Uncle.

It’s not clear whether this Dulsey and this Uncle are the same Dulsey and the same Uncle that Jethri ven’Deelin knew a few centuries ago, but if they are that might have something to do with Theo finding them both indeterminate of age. (Win Ton described this Uncle as “one who fell heir to the title”, which could be interpreted several ways, particularly bearing in mind the whole business back then about Uncle Yuri’s “younger brothers”.) I notice that the description of the Uncle, when he appears, carefully avoids any of the details – height, build, eye colour, hair colour – that might give a basis for comparison with descriptions we’ve previously been given of Uncle(s).