Annotated 47-18
In retrospect, it’s almost a pity that y’all didn’t get to see Fr’Nj’s trials. Surely her struggle to regain her “balance” and make herself into something stronger could have been an interesting tale, full of powerful questions: What are the limits of my pacifism? Evil must be opposed, but how can one fight for peace? Is seeking my own internal peace selfish, or does it make me stronger and thus more useful? Is the pleasure I take in my mate’s body, in our conversations, making me stronger or is it…a distraction? We could certainly have rendered these struggles in dramatic fashion: dream sequences, creative plant growths, anguished talks with Scipio, Faer, even E-Merl and/or Kur’Ik. But we had enough threads to juggle, and a sprawling story universe should invite the reader’s imagination to fill in some blanks. Always leave ’em wanting more.
In the end, Fr’Nj is very much her sister’s sister. She’s an intellectual in her own way, a high achiever who takes on big missions for the betterment of her people and the world. She can handle difficult people like Frigg, and she knows the value of intercultural exchange (later, she will make Penk and Magda a very meaningful offer).
This has all got to be so weird for Best. Since leaving Weo, he’s followed the others on a sort of museum tour of the adventures they’ve had without him: Souff Kural and the Pit (plus Hammerhead), Asallah En-Qu’Lara, and now B’ial Vezk, plus references to Pardo’s village and the Sisterhoods. He’s had some independent adventures of his own, but his egomania meant that he didn’t leave any true bonds behind…just as well that Don Gobligno and the land sharks probably don’t recognize him. (The fact that WAV’s fellow-travelers actually miss him makes them the exception that proves the rule: he didn’t have the egomania then.) Meanwhile, the rest of the Five are active in building this coalition, which is testament to all the work they’ve put into diplomacy before this. Even Frigg is about to become a leader of sorts.
FB: Earth goddesses: mostly armless.
T, the ‘regain her “balance”…’ link points back to this page. Is that expected?
Don’t know what I would do without you guys sometimes. Fixed.
I miss WAV, too. He was nice and it seems like he had to die in order for Best to live again. If Best had learnt literally anything from the experience of being a good person for a while, it might be better. But, nope, he’s too much of an egomaniac to learn anything. Even Rachel got to chooze her death, and uze it to do something good. WAV just evaporated suddenly, confuzed, to no purpose. A reminder that, even in other worlds, fairness and justice are things that we make (or don’t), not natural aspects of the universe.
Best as he is now seems to have absorbed SOMETHING of WAV’s humility, and we know he remembers his time as WAV, FWIW.
This whole sacrificing-an-arm thing is SO weird to me! Seems like SUCH a huge sacrifice to make … for what purpose? If it was literally required for some spell that would give her power (which would make for an interesting callback to H.R.’s use of Ferris’s arm), that would be one thing. But that is not clearly indicated her. Syr’nj just says it’s “tradition.” A symbolic representation of her willingness to sacrifice for her cause?
Meh. All religions are a mystery to me.
Frigg’s still-lingering dislike of Fr’nj is also strange to me. I’d think she’d be over it by now.
I thjink she made the magic staff she is holding form her own arm. Presumably a very magic item and effectively a power-up.
That’s always my assumption.
Sacrifices and arm, and suddenly has a big ol’ magical staff? Definitely screams ‘crafted the staff from her own limb’.
Indeed, Graiya’s Bough was created from Graiya’s arm as well.
https://guildedage.net/comic/annotated-17-20/
Well that’s even worse, because now she has to carry the staff around … using her only good hand. Graiya forbid she ever needs to carry anything else! ;)
I always wondered if she’d grow it back since wood elves are apparently part wood and trees can sort of do that, if you don’t mind the new limb being kind of weedy compared to the pre-existing one.