Kevin's Watch

This chapter begins with Terisa, apparently rejected by Eremis, in a dark mood. Geraden set about trying to bring her out of it.

As if he knew that any despondency in him could hurt her, he practiced good cheer. As if he knew that the sore places in her weren’t ready to be touched, he preserved a tactful emotional distance. As if he knew that she wasn’t strong enough to be pushed, he urged nothing.

Terisa finally starts opening up with Geraden, and tells him some of the secrets she’s been keeping since arriving in Orison. Finally, she makes the decision that he is a friend, even if nobody else is, and the sharing of her secrets allows them to grow as friends.

Outside, the freeze lasts a few more days, and then it begins to thaw. Now, this is actually a bad thing, as it will allow the armies of Cadwal and Alend to advance sooner than Orison hoped for, but for Terisa and Geraden, they just cannot help but welcome the warmer weather. Just as Terisa and Geraden decide to go outdoors, Elega comes and asks them to join her as she goes shopping for new clothes at the bazaar in the courtyard. For a moment, Geraden suspects Elega has other motives than just plain shopping, but he casts his concerns aside and agrees to escort the ladies.

The mood in the courtyard is light, and all the people are merrily going about their varied business. One person in particular catches Terisa’s eye, even though he appears to be nothing more than an unlucky mountebank.

As they continue towards the fabric and tailor shops, Geraden suddenly notices his brother Nyle in the crowd, and excitedly goes to greet him. Strangely, Nyle does not seem to be very happy to have been discovered by Geraden. Though he looks like his brothers, clearly he is not very much like either Geraden or Artagel when it comes to behavior. After a few terse replies to Geraden and the ladies, Nyle dismisses himself. Elega follows to talk with Nyle further, and Geraden explains the source of Nyle’s discomfort around Elega, which is unrequited love.

Their conversation over, Elega returns to Terisa and takes her to her favourite fabric shop. Geraden takes off, presumably to talk to Nyle, even though Elega asks him not to. As they peruse the shop, Elega tells Terisa more about the mysterious Nyle.

”I consider him a friend. And I respect him. He has a-a seriousness of mind?-no, a seriousness of desire which his brothers apparently lack. It is inconceivable, for instance, that he would spend Geraden’s years trying and failing to become an imager. And it also is inconceivable that he would learn Artagel’s skills and then refuse to use them-as Artagel has refused-to rise in command of the King’s guards. There was a time,” she admitted, “when if he had expressed an interest in my hand I would have taken him as seriously as he took me”

Next, Elega takes Terisa to the tailor Mindlin, and leaves her with him, so she can do a few errands alone. After Terisa is done with Midlin, she goes out into the crowd again, spots Nyle, and follows him. She watches Nyle enter a tent, and a few minutes later, leave the same tent with the mountebank she noticed earlier following closely behind. Suddenly she recognizes the mountebank to be no other than Prince Kragen, the Alend contender! She now realizes what Geraden had suspected; Elega had other reasons than shopping to be here, and those reasons somehow involved both Nyle and Kragen. Before she can ponder this further, the High King’s Monomach Gart attacks her, himself disguised as a juggler.

But the juggler had a nose like the blade of a hatchet; his teeth were bared in a feral grin. She had the indistinct impression that there were scars on his cheeks. His burning yellow eyes were fixed on her-

Just as Gart attacks, Geraden slams into him. Gart knocks Geraden down, but before he can kill Terisa, Artagel appears, and they begin to match swords. As the fight goes on, Terisa fears Artagel will lose, and be killed by Gart. Just when you think nobody else could possibly enter the fray; Argus and Ribuld show up and attack Gart. Unfortunately, Gart avoids their attack, draws Artagel into a move that puts him off-balance, stabs Artagel in his side, and escapes, leaving Artagel severely wounded.

The chapter closes with an unsuccessful search for Gart, and a race to get Artagel to a physician to save his life.

Layers upon layers upon layers of intrigue!

It's pretty obvious that Elega and Nyle are up to something -- but is that really the Prince sneaking around in disguise? Are they involved with him? And who keeps involving the High King's Monomach? And why does he keep trying to kill an unarmed woman? (Quite a contrast from the Congery's Champion, who refuses to kill woman, isn't he?)

That's a great "read-lead" dAN! I far as I can remember, including my recent speed-scan, you've captured all the essential points and action. Now, of course, you've forced me to reread and enjoy this chapter this weekend.

Just what I can say from memory:

What I liked most about this chapter is that it's the first time for Terisa to go outdoors. After all the time running through dark corridors and sitting in her chamber, I had the feeling that I could smell the cold air and the wetness, and just the exitement of 'going outdoors', into a world that's more than just a name or a map. It's incredibly realistic!

I'm reading Tad Williams' Osten Ard Saga right now, and this series goes on and on and on about how freezing cold it is and how everybody is soon going to die from the cold and the hunger. Still nobody ever even gets a cough. In TMOHD it's different. It combines the 'romantic' and the 'dirty' aspects of everything: be it the winter, the landscape, the horses (no noble animals with white tails) or the people.
When Geraden, Elega and Terisa go out into the courtyard, their dresses get wet, it's muddy, it's cold, but there is the smell of the food and everything. And, hey, although I love the snow, the first breath of spring air is always extremely uplifting.
This is the world that I know, and it's just incredible how Donaldson as a writer can make me feel all these things.

I also love it when we get to know the Geraden who is not only the awkward adept but a real person with a history, a family, a favorite dish, maybe even a love life before Terisa.

That realism when it comes to 'small' things is one of the things I love about the Mordant books.

Thanks guys. I really enjoyed reading this chapter much more than the other one I did, and now that I think about it, I have to believe it's because Eremis isn't in it

Really, a day without Eremis is like... This chapter, imho, would be one of the coolest to shoot in a movie version. It's like going from black & white, suddenly, to intense techincolor. There's a very interesting topic up in the MN discussions called "Inside vs. Out" where we talk about this. We're totally cooped up Orison for a great deal of the book and "bamm" we're outside. Water is cascading off the gutters, mud everywhere, sunshine, snowmelt, colorful bazzars and clothes and a wild mix of people we haven't really seen in the castle. Kragen almost completely fades into this wild mix, as does the juggler.

He didn't watch what he was doing. He had no need to watch: his hands knew their skill. Instead he regarded Terisa narrowly.

The stars cast a trance. For a moment like the touch of a dream she saw everything.

This is my favorite single sceen in the chapter, right up to when all hell breaks loose. Not only are the nasty spinning silver stars mesmerising but the sheer fact that almost blinding sunlight is reflecting off them--as if Terisa is not only saying 'this is neat' but 'I can't even remember the last time I saw sunshine'. "She sees everything" and everything moves into languid slowmotion,

The sky overhead looked as blue as a dream, blue and perfect, the ideal background for the whirl of silver.

But the juggler had a nose like the blade of a hatchet; his teeth were bared in a feral grin. She had the indistinct impression that there were scars on his cheeks. His burning yellow eyes fixed on her-

Then the moment ended, and she didn't see how things happened.

Without forewarning, the stars changed their dance. From the jugglers hands, they began to float straight at her head like bright metal leaves on a strong breeze.

Hardly aware of what she did, she twitched her face away from the first star. The second licked along her cheek.

The rest of them should have hit her. But they were pulled off target when Geraden crashed into the juggler, grappling for his arm.

The juggler delivered a blow with his elbow that crumpled Geraden into the mud. Then his robe swirled aside, and a longsword appeared like a slash of steel fire in his hands.

...end slo-mo...

He sprang at Terisa.

Wow! In-tense~

Torrent wrote:maybe even a love life before Terisa.

heh, I thought he had as much experience with women as Terisa did with men... heh.

So did I, I never thought he was anything other than a virgin. If he wasn't maybe his, er, coordination would have been better.

Wasn't there a spell on both of them? I remember TMOHD starting out by saying that; I just assumed that's what made him clumsy, and her invisible.

Doesn't he say, at one point, that he is not as inexperienced as Saddith thinks? I think that's after Saddith tried to seduce him on the floor in front of Terisa's bed or something.

But you're probably right.

At least he was interested in other women before Terisa came to Mordant.

danlo wrote:So did I, I never thought he was anything other than a virgin. If he wasn't maybe his, er, coordination would have been better.

PMSL! No, the reason he was so clumsy is because he is too many things at once. Terisa observes this very early...

Terisa caught a view of what he was so clumsy. He was a boy and a man. And all the things in between. And these things rarely came into balance.

Or something like that anyway... So his sex life had nothing to do with it... hmmm... I wonder if he was indeed a virgin... Because he was in his twenties... good looking, or so we are told... and, though he was clumsy, I bet cartain women would be into him. Or the other way round...

Can't let my jokes lie still can you? Your quote really says nothing to refute that. However he was know as Geraden fumblefoot long before he entered Terisa's world. We all view literature differently-to me-the story doesn't work unless they're both virgins. It's just a precieved sweet innocense that shouldn't be corrupted-not that the forces at work aren't trying their damdest to do so.

I'm pretty sure he was also a virgin.

Spoiler

The first time they try to make love, he can't function, and his inexperience is cited as the reason. She jokes around a bit, relieves some of the tension, and everything goes fine the second time. I don't have the book in front of me, but its happens in AMRT at Houseldon.
Now, just because he is a virgin doesn't mean he hasn't been interested in other girls, and perhaps indulged in kissing, etc. )

I, of course, always have to have the opinion opposite to everyone else... So I think he is not a virgin... even though he probably is...

Just because he is inexperienced... doesn't mean he hasn't made love before... He could have just made love once... and that what count as inexperienced I guess...

though if he is... and he said no to Saddith... well... what a loser!

Well, Saddith did want to have sex with him right next to the bed where his true love was resting...I think he was pretty smart to turn her down -- believe me, most women would go postal is they woke up and saw something like that going on...a marked lack of respect on the part of their man.

Duchess is totally right - don't read her spoilier, read AMRT!!!!

I have

duchess of malfi wrote:... where his true love was resting...

"True Love", or "To Blithe"? It makes a difference, you know.....