SleeplessOne wrote:I re-read it also.
Thoughts on Bifalt? And Lome?
To be clear, SleeplessOne, I have only read TWW once; not re-read it, yet. There's a small stack of books on my reading list for the next few months, and I probably won't get around to a re-read of TWW until next August or September.
I was ambivalent about Bifalt when reading
Seventh Decimate, and some of that ambivalence has remained after a first completed read of TWW. At first, I found Bifalt's thinking the alliance between Belleger and Amika will be more secure if he practices celibacy with Estie to be incomprehensible. However, I take his point that if they have children, those children could be put into danger by the coming war, and might even be used as leverage against them. His fear that Estie will become untrustworthy if she explores her ability for sorcery fits with the depiction of him in the first book, but it makes him seem paranoid to me. But I admire that he wants Estie to have full control over how Amika is ruled, and that he trusts her judgement when it comes to matters of with whom to share his councils. Bifalt's insistence on publicly and privately respecting Estie's judgement and autonomy seems wise for purpose of keeping the alliance of their respective kingdoms strong.
As for Lome, I will comment on him after sharing the following passage.
[quote="In Chapter Three of
The War Within, entitled "The Queen In Council", was"]While she [Estie] smiled for the First Captain [Jaspid], and for her husband's defense of his second brother, Prince Lome lurched upright. "I have a request," he said too loudly. "Majesty. You have heard it before. You must reconsider." Drink or his uncharacteristic temerity made him sound belligerent. It concerns the Church of the Great God Rile."
Blocked by turrets and ramparts outside the windows, the sunlight was fading. Prince Lome was an indistinct figure, slurred by shadows and gloom.
"Will you be more specific, Brother?" If King Bifalt felt any displeasure, he kept it to himself. "You know my position. I have allowed the building of churches because my lady Queen sees no harm in them. I have not resisted the worship of this 'great god,' whatever he may be. But I do not trust these strangers. Their purposes are unclear to me.
"What must I reconsider?"
"A place on your council." Prince Lome's effort to speak assertively scattered saliva. "Your private council. Where Belleger's future is decided. A place for Archpriest Makh, who leads the Church of the Great God.
"You have rejected any priest." The Prince spoke strongly, yet he did not sound strong. He sounded frightened. "You are wrong. The Archpriest is
more than his disciples. He is
wiser. And he preaches peace. We do not have it now. We are allied with Amika, but you cannot pretend we are at
peace. Even
you, Brother. You cannot pretend we have peace.
"Only hear him
once. Only let him speak in your council
once. Then his purposes will be clear." To keep his balance, Lome braced his arms on the back of the bench in front of him. "You will know how wrong you are."
There was silence in the hall until Land-Captain Erepos suggested to Lome laconically, "Majesty."
At once, Prince Lome's confidence seemed to abandon him. "Majesty," he echoed in a smaller voice.
With what Queen Estie considered admirable restraint, King Bifalt repeated, "You know my position, Brother. I will not restate it." Then he turned to her. "But if my Queen-Consort has any new thoughts? We have spoken of this before. What do you say to Prince Lome's request now?"
Estie had forgotten her impulse to provoke her husband. This was not an occasion for an unloved wife's frustration. It was a time for the Queen of Amika.
In her most soothing tone, she asked Lome, "Will you answer one question, Highness? What do you say to one of the Nuuri on the King's private council? Will you hear him? "
Vague in the dimness, Prince Lome gaped at her, but no words came.
She gave him a moment to gather himself. When he did not respond, she said, "Then I will tell you how I view your request.
"I see no threat in the priests or in strangers. The world holds many people, and they each have their own wisdom. We can learn much from strangers.
"But I place great value on privacy. King Bifalt's private councils are private, as mine are, because they consider private matters, maters that do not concern strangers. In these meetings, every voice and opinion can be heard and answered without fear. Beliefs and desires can be debated there, thoughts that cannot be addressed publicly because they might give rise to rumors and confusion.
"In private, any stranger can only be a distraction. I do not call it
wise to admit any priest, even the Archpriest, to the King's private council. I would not admit him to mine."
For the briefest of moments, King Bifalt's severity eased. Then he stood. Crisply now, he told Prince Lome, "You are answered, Brother. And my Queen-Consort's need to depart is grave. If you remain dissatisfied, speak to me alone.
This council is ended."
To his wife, he gave a formal bow; he turned away and left the dais, heading toward the passages that led to his personal rooms in Belleger's Fist.
Doing her best to emulate her husband's manner, Queen Estie also turned away. But before she departed, she could not resist one more look around the hall.
Prince Lome had collapsed into his seat. Almost immediately, however, he lurched to his feet and rushed toward the public exit. His brother Jaspid stood back, letting other people pass around him; watching Lome with a smile that might have been sardonic or rueful. Grinning, Land-Captain Erepos bowed elaborately to the Queen-Consort before making his own departure.
But Elgart and Magister Facile were still absent.
Queen Estie needed them.[/quote]
While it's true that the character of Prince Lome appears several times in TWW, it's that passage that is most influential to my opinion of him.
Lome sounds like a slob, spraying spittle while talking, and his frightened manner while trying to be assertive says to me that he is easily manipulated. (Maybe Lome's malleability to influence by the Great God's priests is enhanced by a wish to assume the throne, which could explain why Lome is reluctant to address Bifalt as "Majesty".)
Lome is not truthful, for despite his insistence that no peace exists between Amika and Belleger, it is clear that peace is what they now possess. Lome is not open, for he never explains what Archpriest Makh would say that would demonstrate purposes both trustworthy and wise. Lome doesn't seem to want any Nuuri on the King's council, likely because he's involved with Smegin's plotting against them.
I think that Lome is a treacherous, self-pitying, weak persona, who probably left the council so that he could report to on of the Great God's priest as soon as possible the resistance to having Makh on the council. I concede that Lome's presence in the story makes the story more interesting reading.