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Memories of Ice
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MOI - Chapter Twenty-Four - NO SPOILERS
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Mod
Kallor is a bastard.
nuff said
AS IF!
So Kallor gets what he bargained with the Crippled god for. To get an opportunity to take his revenge on Nightchill. He's managed to maneuver himself so he's in position while Brood is separated from Silverfox - no wonder he was so eager to go give the Malazan's a helping hand - as soon as he saw the dust moving in the previous chapter, he knew.
He first takes out the only one he sees as a possible threat in the immediate vicinity ie Korlat. Then WhiskeyJack steps up to defend Silverfox, his leg gives out and Kallor impales him. He's got access to chaos magic courtesy of the CG but still manages to get stung by one of the Malazan marines.
And surprise surprise, Tayschrenn is suddenly there and forces Kallor into another warren.
Yes, it turns out the standard bearer Artanthos is in fact Tayschrenn in disguise.
Silverfox accuses him of deliberately delaying to finish off WhiskeyJack - she brings up Pale
‘Tell me,’ she said to the newcomer, ‘the sorcery that accompanied Kallor’s betrayal: was it truly so efficacious as to leave you stunned for so long? Or did you hold back? Calculating your moment, observing the consequences of your inaction – after all, you’ve done it before, Tayschrenn, haven’t you?’
But she notices that Tayschrenn is showing signs of enduring a chaos assault and seems to change her mind.
The man she had known as Artanthos leaned over her. Sorcery had split the flesh of his face – the touch of chaos, she recognized. A fiercer touch than what she could have survived. She knew, then, in her soul, that the High Mage had willed no delay to his response.
And then Itkovian turns up and embraces the T'lan Imass. Silverfox had denied them the release of oblivion, but Itkovian now offers them another type of release - the release from 300000 years of suffering.
What will it do to Itkovian?
You are in pain. I would embrace you now . . .
He felt his god’s horror, burgeoning to overwhelm his own—
As the T’lan Imass made reply.
Falling to their knees. Heads bowing.
Ah, Summoner . . .
And, now, it was far too late.
Mod
First up we get Quick Ben facing off with twelve enemy sorcerers - seeings Quick Ben is an amalgam of twelve sorcerer's souls that about evens things up
He glared until the four men settled, surveyed the bleak expressions for a moment, then grinned. ‘Twelve of the bastards, right? And who is this, standing here before you? Quick Ben. Right? Ben Adaephon Delat.
I like how Blend thinks her stealth abilities are the result of a special charm that she offers to Quick Ben. He doesn't bother telling her the charm's a fake and lets her keep it.
Well, damn me. The lass buys a worthless piece of stone from a Gral swindler and suddenly she’s invisible. Raw but pure talent, right in her bones, and she doesn’t even know it.
And what about Paran taken out that demon possessed Condor. That Hounds blood is some serious juju.
Paran was almost invisible within a writhing, shadow-woven Hound. Not a Soletaken – not a veering. These are two creatures – man and beast – woven together . . . somehow. And the power behind it – it’s Shadow. Kurald Emurlahn.
And the Bridgeburners are distracting the K'Chain Che'malle through the streets. Moranth are getting chopped up as they provide air support.
And then Onos Tool shows up. He's coming for his friend Toc. Oh yeah - there's going to be some hurting.
The T’lan Imass could make his arrival unknown.
But the Pannion Seer had taken Aral Fayle. Toc the Younger. A mortal man ... who had called Tool friend...
...The time had come for the First Sword of the T’lan Imass to announce himself.
And the Bridgeburners have his back - or maybe his back has them...
‘Hood’s breath!’ Blend muttered.
‘Come on!’ Picker snapped.
‘Where?’ Corporal Aimless demanded.
‘After him,’ she replied, setting off. ‘Looks like the safest place to be is in that thing’s shadow.’
‘But it’s heading for the keep!’
‘Then so are we!’
That was brutal with Whiskeyjack. No hero's death like Coltaine, not the quiet retirement he wanted. Just betrayal. We never found out anything about the two marines, either. More pathos there, though I guess we might still hear more about them if whatever they were trying to manipulate Kruppe about was important.With Itkovian trying to take on the T'lan Imass's suffering, I wonder not only what it'll do to him, but also (if he comes remotely close to succeeding) what it'll do to the T'lan Imass - is losing their despair losing all they have left of themselves, like for Anaster, or will they come out revitalized? Also, I'm waiting to see what Tayschrenn will do, and what Silverfox will do about him, now he's unmasked. I wonder just how much influence he has on imperial policy.
Quick Ben sure is something, as usual. Bravado to keep up the soldiers' confidence, something else - I'm not sure what exactly - for Paran and Dujek, and I bet whatever he's really thinking is something else again. I also wonder whether his willingness to sacrifice himself along with the army means his hopes of saving Burn are weak.
Mod
I don't think so - but he is still a soldier and a Bridgeburner above all else. And he's loyal to WhiskeyJack to a fault - and taking on Coral head on is tactically favorable to WhiskeyJack's and his half of the army still coming. Right or wrong, he's basically chosen WhiskeyJack over Burn - which makes what happens later even more poignant.
Watching the scene of Whiskeyjack's death through Korlat's eyes is rather fascinating....how she sees whar happens but cant even move her hand closer to WJ-but is able to know that Tayschrenn was thier savior, and feel compelled to make Silverfox see it. It's the little details that count!
Mod
Mod
Quick Ben got even more awesome, and apparently Blend has some kind of power to turn invisible and is able to detect Ben's illusions. She has no idea why. I'll be curious to see if this changes later.
Oh and that Paran/hound thing was just nuts.
OK enough posting. Time to go finish the book.
Mod
I'm going to go nurse my bleeding knuckles now.
Mod
Mod
Ah good. That means I can slip up once next book and will still be improving :)
Such a great chapter! I was cheering when Tool showed up looking for his friend Toc. Look out Matron, Seer - oh ya, and any K'Chain that get in the way. Love the bridgeburners and the haphazard, griping, perfect miracles they perform.
Quick Ben, amazing as always.
Korlat...Whiskeyjack. Just not right...such a waste.
I knew that the T'lan Imass were going to appear in the killing field to confront the K'Chain, no surprise there. Didn't see it coming when Itkovian headed toward them though - couldn't he wait until AFTER the K'Chain were dealt with?
And can someone explain to me please, why was Kallor even a part of the leadership for Brood's army? The guy was all hinder and no help, and clearly not to be trusted.
Love that Kruppe wants his face painted white now :)
Only one more chapter...and a whole lot needs to happen still.
Linette wrote: "Such a great chapter! I was cheering when Tool showed up looking for his friend Toc. Look out Matron, Seer - oh ya, and any K'Chain that get in the way. Love the bridgeburners and the haphazard, g..."
"Haphazard, griping, perfect miracles" is such a great way of putting it.
I wonder about Kallor too. My best guess right now is that he was less jumpy and more cooperative before Silverfox showed up.
I'd agree, he IS the greatest commander which they needed. But vengeance against Nightchill plus nobody listening to him made him go berserk. Still they had a huge failure in trusting him.
I guess that could be the case, maybe we just didn't see all the help he gave them, and maybe once he showed his pathos Brood wanted him close to keep an eye on him.
The thing that bugged me before, and still does, about Whiskeyjack's death is that it depends too much on his unhealed leg. Soldiering is very much a hurry up and wait kind of endeavor, even here. He had plenty of time to get his leg heal. He had access to the healers. And magical healing doesn't seem to take all that long. So why did he keep putting it off? (It's not like Paran, who seems to covet his scars.)And now that Erikson has killed off Whiskeyjack, does anyone really think that Rake is safe, just because he is Rake. When I first read this series, I thought Whiskeyjack was as central as you could get. Killing off Coltaine was OK, because he's an outsider. But Whiskeyjack -- that's pretty much on the same level as Ned Stark. In my opinion, if he can get killed, then no one is safe. Not Rake, not Quick Ben, not Kalam, not even Kruppe, or K'rul (Well, maybe Pust is safe.)
wow, what a chapter.a whole lot of desperation, and a whole lot of miscommunication. i think it's hard to be allies if you're not really showing your plans.
about whiskeyjack - not good!
however, there's one thing...
it seems like death is made of teflon in Erikson-world and very often doesn't stick. so i have some hope that whiskeyjack is somehow going to return?
there should be house of teflon in the deck! :D
This chapter was really good, the paran and hound thing was awesome, so paran and the hound are somewhat linked and the hound comes out whenever paran is in danger.Regarding the death of whiskey jack it was hard to read but he was against a old king who has seen it all and done it all, so I don't think he stood a chance with Kallor and Tayschrenn is back.
So something that has really annoyed me. Dujek splits up his army sending two thirds down the road to arrive at Coral early, hiding this fact from both the Seer and Brood's army. My question: why?I understand getting into and disrupting the Pannion's defense preparations but this surely could have been timed better and less suicidally. What was the hurry?
The end result is that Brood doesn't trust them, WJ knackers his force out rushing to catch up as well as the Grey Swords and Trake's Legion and they leave at least 50,000 Barghast behind which seems like tactical tomfoolery.
And if it is necessary and worth the sacrifice of thousands of your soldiers why do you need to leave Brood in the dark leading to him not trusting you and most of the allied forces being left out of the battle? Just let CB know and he can make sure all the forces arrive in decent time.
Seems like a really, really poor plan from the Greatest Commanders Ever (TM).
On another note, this:Had their conversation continued for another half-dozen heartbeats, Korlat - with her preternatural vision - would have seen the first flight of Black Moranth rise from the mountain's forested slope, forty in all, and, flying low, wing hard an fast for the city.
A half-dozen heartbeats, within which Oponn's coin spun...
A single, lazy turn...
From Lady to Lord.
Uh oh.
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David Sven, Mortal Sword..Meow
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I think this is because the question of who will occupy Coral when things are finished has not been settled. Dujek intends to be the occupying force and if he can take the city before the others get there first it will first come first serve.
Of course - the issue is settled when the place gets swallowed up by the warren of Darkness.
Did Dujek decide this on his own? I can't remember. Was Gruntle somehow involved in the decision process?BH spoiler (view spoiler)
Mod
Dujek was working for the Empire so he would have been under Laseen's instructions I think
David Sven wrote: Dujek was working for the Empire so he would have been under Laseen's instructions I think"That is a very good explanation. So Dujek's hands might have been tied on this one.
And as cunning Laseen is in businesses of subterfuge, she never made the impression to me of being a great strategist.
Whiskeyjack! I am sad now. I have nothing else to add. Just all the sads.
Chaz wrote: "So something that has really annoyed me. Dujek splits up his army sending two thirds down the road to arrive at Coral early, hiding this fact from both the Seer and Brood's army. My question: why?..."
This was the point that stuck out for me too. I'm going to go with a major (and probably far-fetched) conspiracy theory -
Dujek is involved in Laseen's plan to get rid of the Bridgeburners!
Why I think so -
1. The Bridgeburners always seem to be separated from Onearm's Host in major battles (Pale, Coral), and it always has something to do with Dujek's orders. Dujek does justify his actions in Pale, but we only have his word for it.
2. Dujek always struck me as the one who was more loyal to Laseen. And this makes sense, Dujek is the High Fist, the Empress has to be able to trust him.
3. The Moranth are bombarding Coral when the Bridgeburners are in there!
Smaller specks dropped from the Moranth, down onto the east half of the city.
Their descent seemed to take for ever, then the first one struck the roof of a building. The explosion shattered the roof and upper floor. All at once, detonations trembled as cusser after cusser struck.
Sorcery swept from the six condors, raced up towards the distant Moranth.
Bombs expended, the wing scattered. None the less, more than a score did not escape the sorcerous wave.
Smoke and dust shrouded the east side of Coral.
Above the captain and the squad, the remaining condors screamed with rage.
'That worked, more or less,' Quick Ben whispered. 'Those streets were likely packed solid with Pannion soldiers.'
'Not to mention,' Paran gritted, 'the rest of the Bridgeburners.'
'They'd have withdrawn by now.'
Paran heard the effort in the wizard's hopeful tone.
4. And then we had a conversation between WJ and Korlat -
Dujek was displeased,' he said.
'Dujek wants to keep his army alive.'
His head snapped round.
Her eyes regarded him, cool and gauging.
'I have no interest in usurping his authority—'
'You just did, Whiskeyjack. Laseen's fear of you be damned, the natural order has
reasserted itself. She could handle Dujek. That's why she demoted you and put him in
charge. Gods, you can be dense at times!'
He scowled. 'If I am such a threat to her, why didn't she—' He stopped, closed his
mouth. Oh, Hood. Pale. Darujhistan. It wasn't the Bridgeburners she wanted destroyed.
It was me.
'Guard your trust, my love,' Korlat said. 'It may be that your belief in honour is being used against you.'
He felt himself go cold inside.
Oh, Hood.
Hood's marble balls on an anvil...
5. Dujek is supposed to be a master strategist. And he comes up with a plan that pretty much involves a suicide attempt by the Bridgeburners, even though they have the support of Brood, the Barghast, and the Tiste Andii.
For goodness sake, it involves pitting Quick Ben alone, against a few dozen demonic condors, a number of mages, and a Jaghut and a K'Chain Che'Malle Matron (Granted, the latter two don't come into the picture, but the Malazans don't know that). They have the advantage in both numbers and firepower, they don't need to rush into an attack.
I don't buy the claim that they want to conquer Coral first so they get to keep it. They won't be able to keep it if either of the factions in the alliance doesn't let them.
Mod
But Dujek is under orders from Lasseen - who he is in direct contact with through Tayshcrenn - and the Imperial Navy is on the way with a governor on board ready to take over. So this was Lasseen's strategy (not Dujek's) which was to have Dujek do a quick snatch and grab and then negotiate with the other parties from a position of strength. Of course - Dujek's forces being decimated as well as the manifestation of Kurald Galain over the city put an end to that. And it was an overly ambitious plan - but Surly's forte is more cloak and dagger than field strategy
Whiskeyjack died?! I did not see that coming.
Mod
:-(
Silvio wrote: "That was brutal with Whiskeyjack. No hero's death like Coltaine, not the quiet retirement he wanted. Just betrayal."In some way he was a hero in his death. He blocked Kallor's attack that was meant for Silverfox, and thanks to that the two marines were able to attack Kallor and one of them inflict a wound that forced the CG to pull Kallor out.
Whiskeyjack saved Sliverfox's life.
What's with all the spoilers about what happens to the city afterwards? i.e. (view spoiler) Dude, maintain! Don't get one thing. Why was the WJ knee thing necessary? Kallor is 100,000 years old, never lost a sword fight, and obviously has some skillz. He would beat a regular human easy.
BTW, I think it revealed later why WJ never got his leg healed, but I can't recall why. I remember thinking it highly unrealistic. I bet SE felt some flak about it and wrote in an "explanation". It was just kind weak from the start IMO.
Great chapter overall though. So much good stuff. So much sacrificing for nothing.
Cults of Resurrection
Korum T'bal (translated by Illys of Darujhistan)