Good day, Cosmere Chickens! I hope you’ve got your snorkels and swimsuits ready, because this week we’re diving into Part 2! Things are beginning to heat up in Elantris and Kae, as Hrathen’s plans are falling down around his ears and Sarene’s seem to be going off without a hitch (so far). Raoden’s doing… about as well as he can, all things considered. But in this group of chapters, everything gets turned on its head. Let’s see how it all plays out, shall we?
Spoiler warning: This week’s article contains some discussion of greater Cosmere theory which might be considered spoilers. Proceed with caution if you don’t want to know more about Odium and the Splintering!
Trigger warnings: Suicide (specifically discussion on whether or not people should have the choice to end their own lives), chronic illness/pain.
Last time on Elantris: Misunderstood…
Sarene learns from Ashe that Spirit seems to be a gang lord in Elantris, which causes Sarene to misunderstand him even more than before. Meanwhile, her aunt misunderstands Sarene’s melancholy and tells her that Lord Shuden is not for her but after a time, perhaps she can take a secret lover. (That was actually pretty funny.) And it turns out we misunderstood what Hrathen was up to when he drinks some of the poison that he’d ordered, which we thought was meant for Dilaf. Let’s clear up that last misunderstanding—and watch as Sarene’s misconceptions continue to grow…
Chapter Essentials
POV Character(s): Sarene, Raoden, Hrathen.
Discussion
Chapter 28
The bookshelves extended out of sight, their information stretching as if to eternity. Raoden was certain that the clues he needed were contained somewhere within the vast sea of pages, but finding them seemed a daunting task indeed.
L: Sounds like heaven to me…
P: Truly. Raoden is quite taken with it, too, hoping it will contain the secret to why Aons are no longer working. He’s SO CLOSE.
A set of about thirty volumes squatted on the shelf, waiting in their dust. They dictated a cataloguing system, with numbers relating to the various columns and rows of the library.
L: ::wistful sigh:: Card catalogs. Part of me really misses them, although undoubtedly computer searches are faster and more thorough. (For those readers who don’t have any idea what I’m talking about…)
P: That’s right, Chickens… We had to look up books the hard way. And encyclopedias were our Google. Let’s hope that Raoden finds what he needs!
Buy the Book
Bookshops and Bonedust
L: Now excuse us while Paige and I go retrieve our walkers.
They kept the pool a secret as well, giving Mareshe and Saolin a simplified explanation. Raoden’s own longings warned him how dangerous the pool was. There was a part of him that wanted to seek out its deadly embrace, the refreshment of destruction. If the people knew that there was an easy, painless way to escape the suffering, many would take it without deliberation. The city would be depopulated in a matter of months.
L: Oof. Who could blame them, really? If your life is nothing but never-ending physical pain with no apparent reprieve, surely some people would feel there’s little reason not to end it.
P: It might not even take months. As soon as people realized there was a release, they might just take it as quickly as possible.
Letting them do so was an option, of course. What right had he to keep the others from their peace? Still, Raoden felt that it was too soon to give up on Elantris.
L: This bothers me, to be honest. What right does he have to make that choice for them, without giving them the option? Whether or not he’s right about being able to save Elantris isn’t the point (as of course he does eventually). This is an incredibly difficult moral quandary in our own society, regarding people who have terminal illnesses. What right have we to tell people that they can’t end their own suffering? Especially in cases where there’s no hope of recovery? This is another one of those sticky situations where I don’t really believe there’s a right answer. (And if you ever find yourself in this position, or are struggling with painful thoughts and feeling alone, I would like to encourage you to dial 988, the suicide hotline, where you can find help, support, or just someone to listen.)
P: This is an incredibly sensitive topic, I agree. In the event of mortal illness, it feels like the humane thing to do to allow someone to make that choice for themselves.
988 is a great resource. In the USA, you can also text that number or chat online at https://988lifeline.org/. If anyone reading this from other countries has a similar lifeline or website, feel free to add it in the comments.
The Dor was as Galladon had described it: a powerful reservoir just beyond the normal senses. Its only desire was to escape. The books explained that the Dor existed in a place that was full of pressure, and so the energy pushed its way through any viable exit, moving from an area of high concentration to one of low.
L: Let’s look at the Cosmere theory behind this. It sounds like they’re saying that the power is coming from the Spiritual or Cognitive realms. According to the Coppermind, it’s “a mass of plasma-like substance in the Cognitive Realm, a large amount of power left behind after Odium visited Sel. It is the remnant of the combined powers of Devotion and Dominion after the Shards were Splintered.”
I’m curious as to how this power got trapped on the Cognitive Realm… maybe that’s where the Shards were splintered?
Still, for all of his studies, he was disappointingly unable to find out what had made AonDor stop working. He could only guess that the Dor had changed somehow. Perhaps now, instead of a square, the Dor was a triangle—and no matter how many square-shaped Aons Raoden drew, the energy couldn’t get through. What could have led to the Dor’s sudden shift was beyond him.
L: So close, and yet so far! He’s got the right idea, he just needs to figure out which “shape” is the starter shape (this information will of course come to him eventually).
P: That’s one thing about rereads. You know what they need to know and what they need to do, but you have to wait for them to get there.
Ien did seem to like staying near Raoden.
L: This makes me so, so sad. It’s like a poor senile old blind dog staying near its master not because it recognizes him, but because somewhere deep down, his master makes it feel comforted.
P: It is so very sad. And it makes me wonder if Ien is really in there, cognizant but unable to communicate or function properly. Yeah, that thought is way worse.
L: Paige! You made it worse! WHY WOULD YOU MAKE IT WORSE?!
P: ::backs slowly into bushes::
The Dula shot one last, uncomfortable look at Ien before closing the door, locking the seon in darkness.
L: Poor, poor thing.
P: I was rather indignant that they just left him in the dark, all alone.
L: Seriously. If it were me, I’d just carry him around everywhere with me.
If Saolin lost, then the wildmen would break through. If Saolin won, it would mean the death or incapacitation of dozens of Elantrians—on both sides, people that Raoden should have been able to protect.
Either way, I’m a failure, Raoden thought.
L: Shades of Kaladin again here. There’s something to be said about the Chronic Hero Syndrome archetype—after all, tropes are tropes because something about them resonates within us—but Sanderson does seem to rely on it a lot, especially with Kal and Raoden.
P: It absolutely resonates with fans of all kinds of stories. It gives us someone to look up to while feeling bad for them at the same time.
L: It also gives them a believable, endearing flaw. A hero with no (or few) flaws like Superman can be compelling given the right writer, but it’s so much more fun to make them more realistic people with issues and flaws like we all have.
She couldn’t force herself to ask about the problem. She had gone too long feigning coldness, too long rebuffing his attempts at friendship. Just as in Teod, she had locked herself into a role. And just as before she cursed herself, not quite knowing how to escape her self-imposed indifference.
L: C’mon, Sarene. Just ask! Reach out! Bridge that gap and FALL IN LOVE ALREADY!
P: She’s quite the stubborn one, isn’t she? I rather know how she feels.
Fortunately, Spirit didn’t share her same inhibitions.
L: Or that. Atta boy, Raoden.
P: He couldn’t very well not tell her, knowing they might be ambushed by Shaor’s men at any moment. It’s the moment I’ve been waiting for since Sarene started taking food into Elantris.
One of the wildmen smashed a cudgel against Saolin’s legs, and the soldier fell.
L: Another wound that will never heal, and a massive one at that. Poor Saolin…
P: Alongside his other wounds taken in fights with Shaor’s men, this was enough to do Saolin in and turn him into a Hoed. So sad.
“You tyrant!” she hissed. “You heartless despot!”
Raoden turned to look at Shaor’s desperate men. In a way, she was right. “Yes. I am.”
L: I hate it when this happens in books (and TV shows, and movies). The misunderstanding that could have just been cleared up with a little direct communication, causing a rift between the romantic leads… It’s just so frustrating (and very, very effective from a story-telling viewpoint).
P: It is frustrating. He could have told her from the beginning. I don’t know if that would have been effective, or if she would have believed him, but it would have been worth the try.
Then he remembered Saolin. Raoden dashed across the courtyard to kneel beside his friend. The old soldier stared sightlessly into the sky, his head rocking back and forth as he mumbled, “Failed my lord. Failed my lord Spirit. Failed, failed, failed…”
Raoden moaned, bowing his head in despair. What have I done? he wondered, helplessly cradling the newly made Hoed.
L: This is heartbreaking.
P: As you said above, poor Saolin. All he wanted to do was serve Raoden, to protect him. He’s such a good person, and knowing him before he becomes Hoed just makes it feel all the more tragic.
Chapter 29
A double line of men in chain and leather marched past her carriage, their livery black and red. It was Iadon’s personal guard, and they were heading for Elantris.
L: When Sarene’s plans fall apart, they don’t just gently crumble into dust like an Avenger after Thanos’ snap. Oh no. These explode with the force of an atomic bomb.
P: As does she. As we see below.
“You will withdraw your soldiers from Elantris. You will leave those people alone. Otherwise, I will begin to tell people what I know about you.”
L: I appreciate her spirit and fire so, so much. No shrinking violet is Sarene.
P: Yeah, she really tears him a new one here. Threatening to tell everyone how he was almost broke and how she saved him with the contracts with Teod. She held nothing back.
L: ::sings:: He had it coming! He had it coming! He only had himself to blaaaaaaame!
They say that the Elantrians are dead. That they are the deceased whose minds refuse to rest. Her eyes open for the first time, Sarene realized how the Elantrians survived without food. They didn’t need to eat.
But why then did they?
P: She finally gets it as she stands at the top of the wall, looking down into Elantris after she saves them from annihilation by Iadon’s guards. She also sees Raoden as he sits forlornly with Saolin but feels little sympathy for him. She thinks that even tyrants must love the ones they rule.
L: Well… she sort of gets it. She still doesn’t grasp the enormity of what’s going on down there.
Adien’s haunted, slightly unfocused eyes found her face. “Two thousand, one hundred and thirty-seven steps from here to Elantris,” he whispered.
L: Jeez. This poor, poor kid… (Reminder, if you’ve forgotten—he’s been taken by the Shaod and his family is hiding that fact rather than send him to Elantris.)
P: It seems so unfair that the Shaod takes children, too.
L: It really does. I can’t even imagine how much harder it would be for a child without the capacity/maturity to comprehend what’s happening.
“Beneath all the bluster he’s very insecure.”
“Most men are, dear,” Daora said.
L: Okay, this made me chuckle. (Although I’d argue that anyone who blusters a lot is probably secretly insecure, regardless of gender.)
P: You’re not wrong there.
Chapter 30
Hrathen didn’t try to hide his transformation.
L: ::facepalm:: RIGHT! Now I remember! That’s what the poison did!
P: Yup. It caused a condition that looked like the Shaod so he could get thrown into Elantris and be “saved” by Jaddeth.
L: Clever…
Dilaf was in the middle of morning services. It was worth the loss of hair and skin color to see the short Arelene priest stumble backward in horrified shock.
L: Ha! Didn’t see THAT coming, did you, you zealot?
P: At least he can now show his hatred for Hrathen.
“Oh, Jaddeth, Lord of all Creation,” he began, his voice loud and firm. “Hear now the petition of a servant in your empire. Lift this taint from my blood. Restore me to life. I implore you with all the power of my position as a holy gyorn.”
There was no response. So he repeated the prayer. Again, and again, and again…
L: Oooooooooh. He’s so, so clever. Dangerously so…
P: Chalk another one up for Hrathen.
Chapter 31
Saolin didn’t open his eyes as he sank into the pool, but he did stop mumbling. He bobbed for a moment, then took a sharp breath, reaching his hands toward the heavens. After that, he melted into the blue liquid.
L: As much as it hurts to say farewell to characters we’ve grown to love, at least he’s finally found peace and an end to his suffering.
P: And on to another adventure, maybe?
The numbers that came to him after Sarene were much greater than those that had followed him before. Raoden was forced to acknowledge that despite the temporary setbacks they caused, Sarene’s excursions into Elantris had ultimately been beneficial.
L: At least Saolin’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain… but at what other cost?
P: I don’t know about the benefits, but it did make people realize that the hunger would never really be sated and that there was more to life in Elantris that could ease their pangs.
Joy was more than just an absence of discomfort.
L: For such a short sentence, this is incredibly powerful and thought-provoking.
P: It really is. Whenever I read a sentence like this, I wish that I could write like that. That I could come up with something as profound and beautiful.
L: Don’t sell yourself short, Paige. I think anyone is capable of saying things that resound with people on a deep spiritual level.
Unfortunately, he and Raoden moved too slowly. They were too late … to save Shaor’s men.
L: I have to admit to a moment of schadenfreude here on Raoden’s behalf. (Is that the right usage/attribution for this? I think it is.) Shaor’s men have caused so much trouble that it’s nice to see them get some comeuppance.
P: I mean, we knew in theory that Hrathen was a badass, but to see him in action is pretty impressive.
The Fjordell leapt to his feet, spinning with near-inhuman speed and catching Shaor’s man by the head. There was a snap as the gyorn cracked his opponent’s neck, then threw him against the wooden gate. The other two attacked in unison. One met with a powerful spinning kick that tossed him across the courtyard like a pile of rags. The other received three successive punches to the face, then a kick to the midsection. The madman’s howl of rage cut off with a whine as the gyorn placed another kick at the side of the man’s head.
L: A lesson for those of you who play D&D… Never mess with a monk.
We’ll be leaving further speculation and discussion to you in the comments, and hope to join you there! Next week, we’ll be back with chapters 32 and 33.
Paige resides in New Mexico, of course. Between work and school and the SA5 beta read, she’s trying to work on book 3 of a YA/Crossover trilogy with just a hint of the supernatural. Read book 1 on her Patreon. Links to that and to her other writing are available in her profile.
Lyndsey has one final weekend of working for the local Renaissance Faire remaining before her season is (finally) over. If you enjoy queer protagonists, snarky humor, and don’t mind some salty language, check out book 1 of her fantasy series. Follow her on Facebook or TikTok!
