TMOHD Chapter 12: What Men Do with Women

[duchess of malfi]

What Men Do With Women -- it's not what you think it might be in the context of this chapter!

When we rejoin Terisa, it is after she has seen Master Eremeis and her maid Saddith having sex...

She didn't know how she was going to face Saddith again. Fortunately, when the maid brought her supper, old habits came to Terisa's rescue. She responded to Saddith's glow in the same pale, passive, covert way that she had so often dealt with her parents; she put on nonexistence like a cloak, so that nothing about her called attention to itself or disturbed the flow of Saddith's emotions and concerns. As a result, she was able to hear Saddith's hints and elation in safety, as if she felt nothing. And she had no trouble fending off the maid's cheerful, leering attempts to find out how she had spent her day.

However, letting herself go like that has consequences for Terisa. She feels like she is about to fade away...

She was tempted to give up, let go of herself and take the consequences. But she had been fighting this battle for years. What did master Eremis have to do with her anyway? He hadn't created her problem. Surely she wasn't foolish enough to believe that he could cure it? - that his touch on her body could restore what she lacked? Then why was she wasting her time feeling so miserable about him?

Her brooding is interrupted by a knock on the door, which turns out to be from the object of her brooding, Master Eremis himself.

The way he looked at her still had too much power: effortlessly, it banished all question of fading, made her real in front of him - real for him. After all, what harm had he done her by making love to Saddith? His eyes promised that his attentions were worth having. Who else did she know who could kiss her with just that combination of ardor, experience, and glee? And if he lost interest in her, she could bring him back by telling him about Adept Havelock and Master Quillon.

To me, this is a very dangerous way for Terisa to think...especially since it seemed as if she had been about to come to her senses over this matter...

Eremis has come to take her to the meeting with the leaders of Mordant...and I have to eat lunch and get ready for work now, so I will finish this up later tonight...

[duchess of malfi]

Eremis has come to take Terisa to a meeting with some of the leaders of Mordant. Though she says she does not want to go, Eremis insists, so she agrees.

The guards stopped him as he closed the door after her. They wanted to know where he was taking her. Castellan Lebbick's orders. Even though - she was only vaguely aware of this - Geraden was never questioned when she left with him.

As they approach the place of the meeting they are intercepted by the Perdon, who has many things to say, about his displeasure that Eremis has brought Terisa with him, about his displeasure that the Tor is in attendence, as he is too close to the king, and about his distrust of Eremis himself

Be warned Master Eremis...I am the lord of the Care of Perdon. I do not like manipulation - or abused trust. And I suspect that my fellow lords have similar prejudices.

Attending the meeting besides Terisa and Eremis are the Perdon, Master Gilbur, the Tor, the Armigite, the Termigan, and the Fayle. The lords are hostile towards Eremis and demand to know why Terisa is there. Many of them clearly distrust Imagers...and are even more upset when Prince Kragen walks in...
Terisa realizes what she THINKS Eremis is doing...

All at once, her sense of the situation changed. Despite his strange manner, Master Eremis had the ability to amaze her. Now she understood what he was doing. He was trying to forge an alliance, trying to place all three of the forces here - the lords, the Congery, and Alend's representative - into positions from which they would find it impossible to refuse him. Lacking the strength of the King, or even the authority of the mediator of the Congery, he was forced to resort to these subtle ploys. But the point of his maneuvering was to save Mordant.

Eremis describes the Augery and the Champion and states that the Congery is ready to bring him to Mordant. Some of the lords such as the Fayle seem to favor this. Others very clearly do not, especially the Fayle. Some of the positions of the lords are quite interesting.
The Tor:

What decision? I have none to make. I will not return to Marsholt. I am old, I say. These questions are too much for me. If King Joyse means to destroy Mordant, I will be here to assist him. I will stand at his side to the end.

The Termigan:

I'm considered a loveless man. certainly I've got little use for any of you, my lords - and none for King Joyse. But Termigan is my Care. Fro m the depths of its copper mines to the expanse of its wheat fields and the heights of Sternwall's towers it is mine. Tell me this. When Cadwal is beaten, and Imagery has been defeated, and Joyse is deprived of kingship, who is going to rule Mordant and Termigan? Who is going to have authority over my Care?

the Fayle:

You must not translate this figure of power...You will violate the King's express commands. And more -- you will violate the purpose for which the Congery was conceived. You must not do it...I must tell the King what you intend.

When the Fayle leaves the room upon this pronouncement, Terisa finds her admiring him for his loyalty...
When the meeting breaks up, Terisa finds herself being escorted by the Prince, who tells her of his admiration for Elega. He tells her that the Kingship of Alend is not hereditary but must be earned, and that this mission to Mordant was his opportunity to earn the office. The Prince says that he believes Elega would be high on the list of possible candidates were she an Alend.
Then a battle breaks out. Both of the Prince's bodyguard sare slain, and terisa is about to be killed by a man in balck, the same man who tried to murder her in her rooms. He is prevented by the arrival of a champion in gray, who battles to defend her until he is defeated but not slain...the Perdon and the Prince also battle on her behalf...and the man in black, facing three opponents makes a strange hand gesture and dissappears into thin air...the Prince is horribly upset as the bodyguards were also personal friends, the Perdon wonders how the assassins could know that they were there, the man in gray introduces himself as

My lady, I am Artagel. One of Geraden's brothers. He asked me to watch over you. I haven't done very well. Apparently...someone really wants you killed.

Poor Terisa then faints from the strong smell of blood on her clothes.

[danlo]

I know you were tired when you finished this, outstanding job Duchess, btw, but when you wrote:

Some of the lords such as the Fayle seem to favor this. Others very clearly do not, especially the Fayle

perhaps you meant to say the Armigite favored this? This is clearly a pivotal chapter, if not THE most pivotal in "Mirror", setting all sorts of stuff in motion--the lords are so cool, well most of them. Atagel appears! Yea! Strange happenings in the corridor--Kragen upset, the lords at odds, Joyse's motives questioned by real persons of power--setting serious action in motion! Master Gilbert in attendence...curious...

[duchess of malfi]

Yes, I was very tired, sorry about that, Danlo! the Fayle did NOT want the champion to be brought to Mordant, and seems to truly distrust Eremis... The Perdon seems to be the one who is primarily plotting with good old Eremis...it is hard to keep the lords clear without a scorecard here, as we don't really KNOW any of them yet...we see them through Terisa's eyes, and she is yet a stranger to Mordant herself...
So what is YOUR answer Danlo? About what men do with women in the context of this chapter?

[danlo]

I better say they dismiss them out of hand b4 some1 like Fist comes in here and makes a wisecrack! That's right it is the Perdon..the Armigite's just plain weird!

[Earthblood]

I always found the setting for this story interesting - a medieval world, where they can transport people & things like Captain Kirk himself!
The other interesting thing, to answer Duchesses question, is what men do with women in this land...
At first, it seemed very 'middle ages' - women were subservient to men & were only concerned about how they looked & what man they could connect to to 'take care' of them, because they obviously can't take care of themselves. We soon find out that most of these women are quite capable of taking care of themselvse & without a mirror to look at themselves with, they rely on the reactions of others (men & women) to clue them in on their 'beauty'. The men, of course are really only interested in one thing, and we all know what that is !

Spoiler

Think about Eremis at the end of AMRT - thats what he's about!

Eremis loves to play games,and he is very good at it. Somehow he keeps people from lopping his head off in the process...
You almost get the feeling that Eremis' plan just might work, even if the Fayle says he won't go along - although, what would you really expect him to do? His daughter is the Queen and to go against the King, would be to go against her...

Then of course, all he** breaks out, Kragen's men are killed & the assasins dissapear into thin air - sounds like a kink in Eremis' plan, no????

BTW Duchess - I will take the next chapter in a week or so. You've been carrying this by yourself pretty much - take a chapter off!!!
:earthy

[duchess of malfi]

God bless you Earthy!

[Earthblood]

Thanks Duchess - I'll take all the blessings I can get!!!

[Cord Hurn]

Then a battle breaks out. Both of the Prince's bodyguard sare slain, and terisa is about to be killed by a man in balck, the same man who tried to murder her in her rooms. He is prevented by the arrival of a champion in gray, who battles to defend her until he is defeated but not slain...the Perdon and the Prince also battle on her behalf...and the man in black, facing three opponents makes a strange hand gesture and dissappears into thin air...the Prince is horribly upset as the bodyguards were also personal friends, the Perdon wonders how the assassins could know that they were there, the man in gray introduces himself as
Quote:
My lady, I am Artagel. One of Geraden's brothers. He asked me to watch over you. I haven't done very well. Apparently...someone really wants you killed.

Certainly this is an impressive entrance for a character like Artagel, who arrives unlooked-for to fight against a terror and just nonchalantly introduces himself once the carnage is over. Other than Geraden's remark that he's the best swordsman in Mordant, we know nothing about him before this scene. Yet the way SRD writes him in this chapter is enough to make him intriguing and likable.