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DoD: Chapter Twenty Three - No Spoilers
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Lee, High Priest of Shadow
(last edited Mar 02, 2014 04:59PM)
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Elder Gods were reluctant, belligerent oracles. In the grip of such a power, no mortal could speak in freedom. Clarity was defied, precision denied. Only twisted words and images could come forth.
The warning is that there is a convergence of powers in the Wastelands. Rather than warn the Bolkando Queen off she’s eager to join up with the Malazan’s – especially after Kisswhere shows up to relay the Adjunct’s concern that the alliance was in danger.
Milan’s mission it turns out is to find the T’lan Imass that the Adjunct knows are floating about the desert. It seems she has attempted to summon them based on their previous bond with the Empire
The summons was Malazan. It was the claim of alliance as had been forged long ago, between the Emperor and the Logros T’lan Imass. Somewhere to the east, a Malazan force waited. Danger approached, and the T’lan Imass must stand with allies of old. Such was duty. Such was the ink of honour, written so deep as to stain the immortal soul.
But Tool who is leading the Imass is done with that Alliance and any attempt at summoning including that from Olar
He defied the command.
His only concern is answering the injustice done to his family. Whatever form that would take
Could they even have guessed that love alone was of such power that Tool’s soul had also witnessed the hobbling of his wife and the rapes that followed? That, unable to find his children, he had at last set out for the underworld—to find his beloved Hetan, his family, to escape with finality the cruel spikes of the mortal realm?
Answering the summons instead are the 5 remaining Teblor gods
We are the ones you seek.’
‘Are you summoned then?’
‘We are...’
... ‘I am Urugal the Woven. With me is Thenik the Shattered, Beroke Soft Voice, Kahlb the Silent Hunter and Halad the Giant. We are the Unbound, who once numbered seven. Now we are five...’
And the Malazans are attacked by an Army of K’Chain Nahruk wielding Tesla guns hardwired into mobile battery packs
Those in the front lines held arcane clubs of some sort, blunt-ended and wrapped in bundles of what looked like wire. For each dozen or so, one warrior walked burdened beneath a massive ceramic pack that sat high on its shoulders....
... The wire-bound clubs in the front line seemed to ignite like torches. Lightning arced from the blunt heads, two serpentine tendrils snaking into the air. From each weapon, one of the bolts twisted and spun to sink into one of the strange ceramic packs
Ruthan Gudd pulls out a sword that powers him up with stormrider armour – leading those who know what a stormrider is to assume he is one. He’s not given this from Gudd
Ruthan Gudd gritted his teeth. This Stormrider crap had better work. But gods below, it does hurt to wear. He wheeled his mount to face the Nah’ruk, and then raised high his sword.
Quick Ben starts flinging magic ninja style
Bottle starts taking control of the minds of the Wyval’s accompanying the Nahruk. It’s not the sort of thing that’s too healthy for his mind.
Lostara gets her Shadow Dance on
Theirs sorcery and lightning and wyvals and munitions and pieces of Malazan and bits of Nahruk flying all over the shop.
Mod
Those lightning weapons of the Nahruk are nasty..
I left my book at home so I can't look up what I want to about Quick Ben. Does Fiddler say anything about him in this chapter after he starts going all badass mage?
Mod
Never liked him. Need him, count on him, pray for him, love him, aye. But like him? Not a chance. Goatsticker, dollmaker, souleater. Probably Soletaken or D’ivers, too, if I’m any judge of things.
Mod
It was actually Cuttle who said it talking to Fiddler.
Quick Ben's been Rannalled, Fid
Which seems to mean he's dead, or they think he's dead. It is apparently a reference to something in book 1 where someone else got squashed.
Quick Ben is my favorite character, so I'm going to be annoyed if he's really dead. Especially without a real death scene.
Of course he may just join the rest of the Bridge Burners in ascendance. That's not to mention his soul shifting abilities.
I can't believe QB is dead. He had to have a shaved knuckle somewhere!
Mod
His shaved knuckle is busy getting himself killed using magic his grandmother warned him not to.
Mod
Mod
I was talking about Bottle. QB called Bottle his shaved knuckle..
If Bottle is dead I'll be pissed! Quick Ben always has exciting appearances, those chapters are always great.
Mod
Yeah we left him in a bad way. Hopefully the arrival of allies alleviated his need for wyvals.
Rob, I was trying to figure out the Rannelled thing, too. Was there somebody killed that way in Pale? Or was Rannell the name of a city or place? I'm assuming that Cuttle was referring to some similar type of attack as what happened to QB.
Mod
Maybe one of the rereaders can provide some more info.
Mod
‘My guess is whoever was in command, Fid, is now Rannalled in tree branches.’
This was a reference I think to someone getting blown up by Moranth Munitions.
Rob wrote: "Are they still working for the CG? If so, it seems to further lend credence to the notion that Tavore is going to free him."Probably. Or else it lends credence to the notion that the Crippled God and all his minions are Hood-damned lying bastards. You never know.
Quick Ben got blasted by a giant lightning bolt. I am in so much shock, though I'm not giving up on Quick Ben either. And like Rob said, he should ascend anyway. Oh wait, how awesome would an ascendant Quick Ben be? Maybe I'm not sad after all.
Erikson's not shy about letting us know that someone's dead. Poor Keneb. But he did nothing of the kind with QB.The question I have is one of the characters (I forget which) wondered when QB would stop hiding. Since QB was already showing a pretty impressive display of power, I wondered what the "hiding" meant.
Also, I think that QB's fate, and what happens after Bugg's arrival, are the two most obvious cliffhangers that Erikson apologizes for in the author's note at the start of this book.
Wait, Bugg's arrival where? And damn I have no author's notes!!!!
ANd Ben may have had a shield around him. I know I read this already, but truly I can't remember and it's killing me! Ben can't die, we need him for the final battle. Yes "we", heehee
The question I have is one of the characters (I forget which) wondered when QB would stop hiding. Since QB was already showing a pretty impressive display of power, I wondered what the "hiding" meant.It's Ruthan Gudd: "Quick Ben, how much longer can you hide? Well, Ruthan knew he'd not be around to witness any revelations."
Poor Keneb :(
Lori (Hellian) wrote: "Wait, Bugg's arrival where? And damn I have no author's notes!!!!"Back in Chapter 21, Felash has summoned Bugg to act as a messenger to her mom. At the end of the chapter, Bugg is on his way to the boat, and it doesn't look nice. That doesn't get resolved, I don't think.
message 22:
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David Sven, Mortal Sword..Meow
(last edited Mar 04, 2014 07:07PM)
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I think this does get resolved here
Her daughter had found her. Felash, lost somewhere inside a savage storm at sea, had bargained with a god, and as the echoes of cries from drowning sailors sounded faint and hollow beneath the shrieking winds, the god had opened a path.
So Mael shows up, and opens a channel which he then deliberately distorts with the screams of the dying sailors he takes as payment on top of making it near impossible for Felash to do much more than trying to save herself from drowning along with everyone else. She succeeds by making her message extremely short and cryptic.
OK, so I missed that one. Can I at least hold on to the notion that QB's fate is a kind of cliffhanger?
Mod
Oh that's right. So hard to reconcile Mael with Bugg sometimes!
I'm curious exactly why the Teblor gods are answering the Malazan summons. Are they still working for the CG? If so, it seems to further lend credence to the notion that Tavore is going to free him.This is a good pick up.
Also the nahruk power laser scenes were high point of this book for me.
I guess I wouldn't be totally surprised if Erikson never goes back to Bugg and Felash and Shurq, but I hope he'll clear up what happened and what Bugg wanted at some point.
Oh I think Bugg will be back, also Tehol.
Mod
I don't see him getting back to the characters in Darujhistan in the final book. So I'm assuming we're just left with what happened in Toll the Hounds.
Then again, I didn't see him adding all these new characters and arcs so close to the end either..so I could be way off.
Mod
Oh gods, this chapter is so intensive, quite sad and awesome. (G. R. Martin should learn from Erikson.) Especially the heavies, holding their ground, QB killing and entire phalanx (how many soldiers?), Hedge's new munnition, everything.What about QB's acorns he threw on the ground before the battle started? What are they?
Mod
that's right. Good pickup! Quick Ben and Kalam used acorns to open up a portal between them. I wonder if qb could portal himself out of there. Or maybe he could teleport himself between acorns?
Mod
Lee wrote: You'd image that those acorns are more than just there for growing oak trees.Right, but he told them to "go for the drones with the pack". Maybe they are similar to Kalam's diamonds with shadow demons.
Aaaaand about Ruthan Gudd, he was talking about "her", when his sword became of ice. Who is she?
Top ten chapter in the series Grandma, you always said don’t reach too far. Close your dead eyes now, and remember, I loved you so.
He left his body, winged skyward.
But he felt himself being torn apart. He felt his mind shredding away. He could not do much more of this. Yet Bottle did not relent.
There's some characters who have been around for so long that just went down. Ebron, Bottle, Keneb.......maybe Tavore, Lostra and worst of all Quick! NO SE you fuck say it isn't so!
I knew the 5 T'Lan Imass were the unchained right away......are they really coming to the aid of the Bonehunters?
With QB and all the references to Tayschrenn and that lightning from the sky I half wonder if he pulled him out. The other half thinks all the references to Pale are another betrayal.
When SE punches you in the junk it's with a Toblakai fist. What a gut wrenching chapter.
