And now, for something completely different: an actual new chapter!
Chapter Ten: The Last Alend Ambassador (summary)
Saddith has snatched Terisa from Eremis' seduction chambers (on the pretext that she was summoned by the Lady Myste) just before the Master could teach Terisa what boys do with girls. Outside his chambers they meet with Geraden. He and Saddith immediately start laughing their heads off at foiling Master Eremis' plans and finally Terisa reluctantly joins them. She's not sure how to feel about the whole thing.
Terisa alone seems to worry how Eremis might revenge his humiliation on Geraden and Saddith. Geraden justifies his interference with one of his strongest feelings. Saddith believes he did it out of manly jealousy.
Before they go very far, Master Quillon suddenly appears and commands Geraden to help him with his Imagery projects. Geraden is not very enthusiastic and tries to wriggle out of it but Master Quillon is adamant and Geraden finally gives up and go with him. (seems like Terisa has replaced the place of Imagery in his heart)
Saddith makes some insightful comments to Terrisa (that Eremis is a dangerous man, that Geraden has his attractions as sexual partner and that Castelan Lebbick is a recent widower - free for the taking according to Saddith, who was controlled by his dead wife and now hates all women (on the surface). Because he thinks they seduce him from his memories of his wife?) But insightful as she might be she should learn some caution before she bites on more than she can chew!
Terisa then meets Myste who waits for her in Terisa's rooms and they talk. Terisa is unsure how to act because she never really had a friend before but despite her awkwardness you can feel how well they fit together. What distinguishes Myste's offer of friendship from Geraden's? True, she's female but she calls the Checkers-playing servant from her childhood a friend as well.
Terisa says:
Myste was one of the few people here who didn't have some kind of outlandish or even lethal expectations of her - one of the few with whom it might be possible to have a simple friendship.
Terisa and Myste come from similar backgrounds in a sense. They are both the daughters of a powerful man but inherit none of his power.
She starts with empty courtesy (offers a sit, wine) - imitating her mother? then confesses her lack of social experience and goes on behaving like a small child (whines about how everybody distrust everybody else and they all have expectations of her).
At Terisa's prodding Myste talks about her sister Elega. While Elega is driven by ambition, Myste "thinks better of being a woman ... and of those who hold power in Orison"
Myste expositions her philosophical beliefs about courage of ordinary people (women) and of Imagery. She puts Terisa on a pedestal and under her probing Terisa grows poetic on her experiences of Imagey and in the mission.
Myste calls Terisa wise several times because:
-She can see the truth of herself in the mirrors of her world (Terisa points that she sees only the surface of things)
-Knowing that no one she met is wise: she is not fooled by appearances of wisdom.
When Terisa tells Myste about her work in the Mission and her reasons for doing it, Myste is very excited by the strangeness of Terisa's world and seems to long to take part in an adventure outside the ordinary bounds of her life.
Terisa is really opening up to Myste and begins telling her about the abuse she suffered from her father but they are interrupted by Saddith and the conversation turns to what Translation felt like to Terisa.
I can never decide whether Myste sees with her penetrating gaze unexplored depths of Terisa's heart that nobody else suspected or she is constructing phantasms out of whole cloth that have little to do with Terisa. Both Myste and Elega in their different ways have these preconceived images of Terisa and can't see the real Terisa because of them.
But this was only the first half of the chapter. Saddith returns with exciting news. An Alend ambassador has arrived and the king is convening a formal audience for him. It is prince Kragen, the son of the Alend monarch and the commander of the Alend army. Myste hopes this means her father has returns to his old self and they both hurry to the Hall of Audiences.
This hall has a balcony with archers for protection. Terisa sits in a place of honor with the king's daughter in a section reserved for the civil ministers of the land. The military officers and Imagers of the Congery are also present, in another section of the hall (does this mean the Imagers are considered part of the military of Mordant?)
This is all very impressive until King Joyce and Adept Havelock enter the hall. Adept Havelock dances madly while he sings disjointed ditties and swings a smoking censer into people's faces. King Joyce sits in his throne like a boneless rag doll. Still everybody tries to proceed as if everything is normal led by their Castellan Lebbick who assumes the part of majordomo.
Prince Kragen is admitted and proposes an alliance between Mordant and Alend. The Alend Monarch seems to have changed since the wars and become enlightened. He wants to gain Mordant's and its king's trust by giving his help freely. But King Joyce just wants to insult Kragen. He compares him to a raving puppy and forces him at arrow-point to play hop-board with Terisa, supposedly to gauge their characters. Kragen has no idea how to play it since he never played the game in his life and copycats Terisa's moves. Trying to be diplomatic she leads the game into a stalemate. The meeting breaks with another insulting "you're more of puppy than I thought." from Joyce.
Lebbick (and some other unnamed people) are eager for Alendish blood.
Elega is seething / shamed at her father's inappropriate behavior with Kragen and impressed by Kragen's boldness and runs after him at the end of the meeting.
Myste is heartbroken at her father's decline and public humiliation and runs after him
Is the threat on Kragen's life a break of truce laws? I'm not sure if they work the same way in Mordant's world as in ours.
