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Dust of Dreams
Group Read - Dust of Dreams
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DoD: Chapter Twenty - No Spoilers
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Lee, High Priest of Shadow
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Feb 23, 2014 01:31PM
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Two undead dragons are seeking you. I know them of old. They will bow and scrape and swear fealty. But in their hearts they are vile.
I’m assuming that Silchas is referring to Curdle and Telorast here
‘Yet they travel together. Why has neither one committed treachery upon the other?’
‘I believe they are twins, Olar Ethil, hatched from a single egg
Which means Curdle and Telorast were in the process of taking over Shadow and would have succeeded except they met their demise facing Silchas and Rake
‘My own encounter with them was brief, but violent. They are true spawn of T’iam....’
...Among all the Eleint during the Wars of Shadow, they came closest to victory. It was the last time I stood beside my brother, the last time he held my flank and I his. For a time, then...’ and his voice fell away, ‘we were happy.’
Silchas is devastated by the news that Rake is dead.
Setoc and Tool’s children find the Trygalle Trade Guild. The carriage has suffered a fly by attack by the Shigal Assassin – It appears that Gruntle was the real target – The K’Chain assassin bit off more than he could chew it seems, having taken a beating from the Bole brothers – but Master Quell is dead and a couple of the others.
Anyway – this meeting gives us some more tidbits.
Firstly, it comes out more directly now that Setoc is Destriant to the wolves
‘Setoc,’ said Cartographer after Gruntle had finally finished, ‘the Mortal Sword names you Destriant of Fanderay and Togg, the Wolves of Winter.
The Bole brothers may not be entirely human – if at all. Perhaps the result of Jaghut sorcery.
But Master Quell suggested that the Boles themselves are the spawn of sorcery, perhaps a Jaghut creation gone awry. Would that explain the Boles’ extravagant hatred for Jaghut? Possibly.
Cartographer comes out and names Toc as The Herald of War – confirming that Toc is herald of both Death and the wolves
‘Toc bears a wolf’s eye.’
‘Because he is the Herald of War.’
The title chilled her. ‘Then why is his other eye not a wolf’s eye, too?’
The Hounds of Shadow were bioengineered from Ay – while the Hounds of Darkness were bioengineered from a plains bear – according to Mappo
‘An ancient wolf, from the age of the Imass. Their bloodline was harvested in the shaping of the Hounds of Shadow... but not the Hounds of Darkness. For those, it was the bloodline of a breed of plains bear.
And the Queen of the Bolkando is tossing up whether to march with them to Kolanse – just to see why the place has gone dark.
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After the reading Fiddler did at the start I had high expectations for this book that seemed to fizzle there in the middle of the book.
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The Bole brothers intrigue me. Are they another one of those things that is covered more in the ICE books? I like the way they pounded the K'Chain assassin into retreat with just their fists. I wish that had been an actual scene in the book instead of some of the slow parts in this book rather than just witnessing the aftermath.
The part with the Bole brothers was great, except the end of Quell and the wagon made me sad, I love reading their parts. Guess I really thought they would always squeak through.Cartographer was funny.
The Bole brothers may not be entirely humanThe jaghuts i guess are mad scientists of malazan world first the bhokrala who were with meckros smith also turned out to be demons from jaghut sorcery.
Are they another one of those things that is covered more in the ICE books?
I have read 3 of ICE books but I haven't come across them.
I suppose it makes sense to call Toc the wolves' herald, because of the eye. But wouldn't that mean that there are other heralds of war out there as well - Trake's and Fener's (now out of business) and others?Why would the K'Chain assassin be after Gruntle in particular. Is this mortal sword such a threat to their mission to find their own MS and Shield Anvil?
It sounds to me that, like some other characters, the Boles may be Human+. Something has been added to them that gives them extraordinary resistance to magic and something like berserker power. In some ways, they aren't all that different from Gruntle, who also gets stronger with rage, though I don't think he has any particular magic resistance.
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I agree with David's analysis of the Shi'gal. If he knew what Gruntle was he ought to have prepared the attack better.How casually Erikson kills off his characters when he's done with them.
I just finished this chapter (yeah super behind on these books) and I just have to say:The scene where Silchas learned about Anomander broke my heart :(
