Welcome back! Last week we met a mysteeeeeerious new villain, hung out with some dragons and pondered the shifting geography of Krynn. (Oceans just aren’t as reliable as they used to be, are they?)
This week, our intrepid band of adventurers step into the city of Tarsis, and discover that—ocean or not—they might be a little out of their depth…
“Arrested! The Heroes are Separated. An Ominous Farewell.” and “The Riot. Tas Disappears. Alhana Starbreeze.”
Summary
This lot just can’t stay out of trouble, can they?
Just as they think they’ve managed to get into Tarsis quietly, a guard sees the hated symbol of the Knights of Solamnia on Sturm’s breastplate, and reports them as soon as they’ve settled into the Red Dragon Inn. Meanwhile, the crew bicker about landing up at a port with no sea. Tas gets bored and wanders off.
The others decide to spend the night in Tarsis, with the idea of exploring further the next morning—and maybe find a port that comes complete with an ocean. Elistan and Laurana agree to return to Southgate and help the people there. Tanis is displeased by this. Goldmoon and Riverwind will return too. (Hell who doesn’t want to ditch this indecisive lot?) Caramon, Raistlin, Sturm and Flint all agree to press on with Tanis, but they then bicker some more about whether Raistlin is fit for this.
Tanis explains to Laurana that he is not jealous and that he feels nothing for her, but deep down he no longer believes this to be true. He doubts himself and blames his indecisiveness on being ‘typically human’. Before they can fight any more, the prodigal Tas returns and warns everyone that guards are coming in. Half the lot hide upstairs while Tanis, Sturm and Flint face off with the guards. Raistlin leaves with the upstairs lot, whispering some dark stuff about the great Worm Catyrpelius and how some of them are not destined to meet again in this world. As the guards grab who they can, Tanis once again thinks of Kitiara and how different and selfless Laurana is as compared to her. He thinks he’s finally settled on Laurana, but, typically, it’s too late to apologise.
As they are lead away, the gathering crows start to pelt them with rotten vegetables and the like, taunting Sturm and chucking rocks at them. Soon, they are bleeding and filthy but grimly carrying on. Tas can’t help himself of course, so he starts calling out imaginative insults. HE ends up shoved into a burlap sack and carried away by forces unknown—though the others think he has escaped.
Eventually, they are lead to the Hall of Justice where the Lord of Tarsis must decide on their fate. And though the Tarsian lords have held a reputation for being noble and honourable, it now seems that a draconian has the ear of this one, something that does not bode well for the companions.
Meanwhile, back at the Inn, Raistlin confesses. Well, no—it’s not quite a confession but it’s more background. It turns out that the twins’ mother was prescient but entered trances that she couldn’t always control. Her visions were also fairly useless in helping her have a decent life, because the first man she married was a warrior who vanished so often, and on such on long trips, that she finally had him declared dead. She then re-married a woodcutter who was barely able to make ends meet to provide for their family. Kitiara was the daughter of the warrior, trained by him in warfare and earning a living off her sword early in life. She raised Raistlin and Caramon, her step-brothers, because their mother never quite recovered from their birth. When the twins were teenagers, their woodcutter father died in an accident and their mother went into a trance she would never come out of, eventually starving to death.
Raistlin learnt how not to let your power control you. And yet, when it was the time for the Test at the Towers of High Sorcery, Raistlin was certain he could ‘show them all’ how powerful he was, the youngest mage to ever take the test. He doesn’t tell us what we really want to know though, but once again admits that his body and mind were ruined as a result of what he had to go through.
After the test, Raistlin and Caramon met up with the others and decided to travel with them until Tanis suggested it was time for them to all part ways. Laurana asks if Tanis was their leader even back then, recalling how even as a younger elf in Qualinost, Tanis was withdrawn and brooding. Raistlin wonders out loud why everyone follows Tanis, as that completely defies logic and decides it must be because Tanis listens to his feelings and knows that sometimes a leader must lead with his heart and not his head. Laurana points out that Raistlin too, follows Tanis. Raistlin tells her that he does not, but that they are simply headed in the same direction for the time being.
Back in the Hall of Justice, the Lord decides that the crew are not welcome in the city but seems to have a (surprising) soft spot for the Knights of Solamnia. The draconian whispering in his ear does not. While this little power struggle plays out, guards drag a woman draped in veils and into the room and dump her on to the floor. Sturm can not handle this ungentlemanly behaviour and goes to her aid. From her accent alone, Gilthanas and Tanis can tell that she is a Silvanesti elf and Gilthanas deduces that she is Alhana Starbreeze, ‘daughter of the Speaker of the Stars, princess of her people, ruler when her father dies, for she has no brothers’. Of course, she’s meant to be the most beautiful and distant as the moon.
The Lord seems unimpressed, and has her arrested, which further rankles Sturm’s chivalry and forces the others to ready themselves for an unwanted fight. It doesn’t seem like Sturm will think twice about defending a stranger’s honour, should she be a woman. The obvious conclusion is to pack them all off to jail, which is what happens.
But before then, Alhana or Muralasa, as she is known to the elves (is she? why didn’t Tanis and Gilnthanas call her that then? nevermind) reveals her face—‘skin the pale hue of a silver moon, hair as black as night, eyes as purple as the night sky and lips the colour of the red moon’s shadows’. Sturm falls hard. Tanis notices and knows that this lurve is a poisoned arrow because absolutely no one could be more inaccessible than this particular elven beauty. This could be bad. Awks.
Monster(s) of the Week
A pitiful little draconian here. Barely.
Notable Quotes
Raistlin, to Laurana:
‘They shattered my body and devoured my mind until by the end I was capable of -’ He stopped abruptly, his eyes shifting to Caramon.’
Oh when will you tell us what happened at the Towers Raistlin, when when I swear I won’t tell anyone, please tell me. Of course he doesn’t.
Raistlin again, this time on the topic of Tanis:
‘I do not follow him. For the time being, Tanis and I simply happen to be traveling in the same direction’.
Oh, you dramatic little mage. You’re the bestest, Raistlin.
Mahvesh’s Take
A Raistlin-heavy chapter here, finally. Sure, there’s lots of Laurana and Tanis emo-action first but who cares? Let’s just get to the Raistlin chapter! Lots of information about past and his childhood. Thank god that Laurana’s eternal beauty makes it easy for him to look at her, because there’s no way he’d talk to anyone else for so long, what with the whole death’s eye view, etc.
Knowing what the twins’ mother went through and how Kitiara raised them did make me want a whole book about them though—that actually sounds like an interesting relationship between the two women.
I enjoyed every last word that hisses out of from Raistlin, though, honestly, half the time I think he whispers dark stuff that sounds like terrible doomsday predictions of death and failure just to scare everyone off. He admits he has no foresight into the future like his mother did, but that never stops him from saying things like ‘we may never meet again!’.
And how about that Tanis? So he was always emo, was he? Not really a shock there. Laurana recalls that, even back when they were young carefree elves hanging out in Qualinost, Tanis was a brooder. It is just me or did brooding conflicted boys become unappealing at some point in early adulthood? Laurana still comes across as strangely childlike to me, in her mannerisms, in her fearful way of talking to Raistlin, in her yearning for Tanis. I’m glad she has something of interest to do around Elistan, though I hope that doesn’t turn creepy.
I’m perturbed by this bit about Alhana being ruler because she has no brothers—so it is established then, that the elves are just as patriarchal a society as humans? I am disappointed. No wonder Kitiara wants none o’ that.
And how come every woman—every woman!—we encounter is meant to be the most beautiful girl in the world? Are there no average lookers in any of these cities? None at all? It’s amazing.
One last thing—so did the Tarsis lot share the Hall of Justice with DC’s Super Friends?
Jared’s Take
I’ll try and be generous and pretend (very briefly) that I’m objective to Tanis and Raistlin for a moment. There are some interesting similarities: they both had terrible childhoods, absentee parents, brutal lessons about power and responsibility, unconventional upbringings with important peer role-models, etc. And both are, quite clearly, deeply insecure. Or,… are they? Tanis has been thrust into a leadership position, but he doubts himself constantly. Similarly, his relationship(s)—he’s indecisive, waffly and, for someone that supposedly listens to his heart, he’s having a hard time figuring out his patently-obvious feelings for Laurana.
He does get a lot of credit for keeping this feisty group together (mostly) and pointed in the same direction (mostly), so that’s nice.
Meanwhile, Raistlin has walled himself off from other people and is—pretty transparently—on a big ol’ quest for power. Looked at from this perspective, although Tanis is a big bundle of tumblrfeelz, Raistlin’s not exactly the picture of well-adjusted confidence, is he?
And yet, I’m still very much #teamRaistlin—insecurities and all. Possibly because his issues are still far, far more relatable. At least—as many of our guest highlords have noted—for geeks like me (and probably a few of you too, given that you’re reading a Dragonlance reread on Tor.com, and bless you for it). He’s smart but unappreciated. He doesn’t want a leadership position, but he does want to be offered it. And although his brother (who he resents) is eternally loyal, he feels abandoned by many of the people that matter (sister, mother, etc).
And also—Raistlin’s weird vision is constant reminder that everything is fleeting and unreliable, and, frankly, he gets credit for not just rolling over and dying. That’s a seriously grimdark curse. Given that he is constantly surrounded by visions of death and destruction, he’s committed himself to overcoming the inevitable, and not succumbing to it. That’s unbelievably heroic. Meanwhile, Tanis ‘struggles’ figuring out which Most Beautiful Woman in The World he loves most.
I’ve wanged on a bit much already, but just to say, I really like all the other scenes in Tarsis as well. It is a relief to know that Sturm’s weird racism about elves doesn’t stop him from appreciating a beautiful woman. (Sigh.) But also, as annoying as Sturm has been, his walk through the city is pretty hard-core… and Tas’ response is lovely as well. Superego vs Id. With Big Ego Tanis oscillating between the two…
Mahvesh loves dystopian fiction & appropriately lives in Karachi, Pakistan. She writes about stories & interviews writers the Tor.com podcast Midnight in Karachi when not wasting much too much time on Twitter.
Jared Shurin is an editor for Pornokitsch and the non-profit publisher Jurassic London.
Mahvesh Murad
After the test, Raistlin and Caramon met up with the others and decided to travel with them until Tanis suggested it was time for them to all part ways
No, they don’t go to take the Test until after they split up, Raistlin says they left on a “quest so secret, we couldn’t even tell you, our dearest friends“
And OH NO we’re Splitting The Party
I quite like these chapters which means a long post incoming. (My apologies in advance to those who do not like my wall of text posts.)
Unfurl the Mission Accomplished banner because Laurana did it! She won Tanis back. Not really sure the game was worth the candle on this one, but it’s what she wants, so good for her, I guess. But how does Tanis’s “decision” here affect my theory that Tanis deep down preferred Kitiara to Laurana? I don’t think it does. Tanis is obviously attracted to Laurana and as a purely aesthetic matter he’s been very definite that he finds Laurana more beautiful than Kitiara, so it’s not surprising that when Laurana is present and Kitiara is not he will gravitate back towards the elfmaid. But as we’ll see soon enough, Laurana winning Tanis back here is a very transitory triumph as he will promptly flip back to Kitiara as soon as he is around her when Laurana is not around. To really get a gage on Tanis’s feelings, we have to look at how Tanis acts in situations where Laurana and Kitiara are on an equal footing (either due to both of them being near him or both of them being absent), and in those situations his feelings seem to run consistently stronger for Kitiara.
Also, Tanis’s “decision” for Laurana here conclusively establishes that he was lying to Laurana back in Qualinost when he claimed he couldn’t be with her because of how it would affect her family. The moment Tanis decides he does want Laurana after all, he does not give her family’s objections the slightest thought, so obviously that was never a true impediment to being with Laurana to him.
I have to wonder why, if Laurana doesn’t like talking to Raistlin and fears and distrusts him, does she go to him for information about Kitiara rather than just talk to Caramon. The only reason I can think of is because of Tika. Laurana presumably knows that Tika is in love with Caramon and also probably picked up back in Autumn Twilight how jealous Tika got when Caramon demonstrated physical attraction for Laurana. Thus Laurana may be staying clear of Caramon just to keep from upsetting Tika (who would probably have a nervous breakdown if Laurana had any some of extended conversation with Caramon.)
The conversation between Laurana and Raistlin itself is fascinating and will have considerable long term impact on Laurana’s future. In particular this conversation appears to be Laurana’s primary source of information about Kitiara. That is notable because Raistlin does not say anything negative about Kitiara in the conversation. There is no mention of her being treacherous or vindictive or cruel; quite the opposite in fact as Raistlin gives a very positive description of Kitiara, telling Laurana all about how Kitiara fought to save his life when he was a baby. With Raistlin’s testimony as Laurana’s primary source of information about Kitiara, it suddenly makes a lot more sense why Laurana will (rather disastrously) believe in Dragons of Spring Dawning that she can trust Kitiara as Raistlin gives her a dangerously misleading picture of Kitiara here. (In that sense Laurana probably would have been better off talking to Caramon as his description of Kitiara to Goldmoon in the last book was much more comprehensive, describing both Kitiara’s virtues and her flaws.)
It’s also interesting that Raistlin is suddenly giving Laurana advice on how to act as a leader. This could be further support for my theory that Laurana is the prophesized Leader of the People, since Raistlin (certainly one of the most intelligent of the Heroes) appears to realize that Laurana is destined to take up a leadership role. (Why else would he be giving her advice on how to act as a leader if he did not expect her to be acting in a leadership role?) Unfortunately, the advice Raistlin gives Laurana is rather poor, and will lead her to considerable grief when she follows it.
The odd thing about the Laurana-Raistlin conversation is that there are multiple references during it to Raistlin gaining knowledge about Laurana (and thus power over her) as a result of their conversation. Raistlin gaining that information about Laurana is played as something ominous which makes you think this is going to be important later in the story, but it never really pays off as Laurana and Raistlin don’t ever have any significant interaction again after this scene. I actually had thought when the Lost Chronicles series was announced and it was reported that one of the books would involve Raistlin’s time as a Black Robe in Neraka, that one of the things he would do in the book would be to use the knowledge of Laurana he gained in this conversation to help Kitiara lure Laurana into the trap. That would have both helped explain how Kitiara was able to manipulate Laurana so perfectly, and also helped explain why Takhisis trusted Raistlin (since he would have done such a major service for the Dragonarmies in helping them take down the Golden General). It also would have provided a pay-off to all the ominous foreshadowing about Raistlin studying Laurana here. (But no, Hourglass Mage made it clear that Raistlin had nothing to do with Kitiara capturing Laurana as Laurana was already in Kitiara’s clutches before Raistlin was even reunited with Kit.)
This conversation also shows why Raistlin is so unpopular with the others. He seems to be genuinely enjoying Laurana’s company and yet during this conversation he: 1) struggles to keep himself from perving out by grabbing her hair; 2) seems to delight in needling her about Tanis’s relationship with Kitiara; and 3) pretty much tells her he can’t be trusted. And Dragons of the Hourglass Mage will establish that Raistlin himself was very powerfully affected by this conversation with him thereafter cherishing Laurana “as a man parched with thirst and lost in the desert cherishes a sip of cool water.” If this is how Raistlin treats someone he really likes, who is showing a genuine interest in what he has to say, it is little wonder that the others stay away from him.
That said this conversation does give me some rare sympathy for Raistlin as this conversation is the first place we learn why Raistlin was given his cursed vision, and wow, Par-Salian just might be the most evil character in the entire Chronicles. How is he possibly a White Robed Wizard? He is essentially viciously torturing Raistlin in Raistlin’s every waking moment. That is big time, capital letters EVIL there. It’s also incredibly counter-productive. If Par-Salian wants to teach Raistlin compassion, how is showing him everyone rotting suppose to accomplish that? Seeing nothing but decay all the time is far more likely to desensitize Raistlin to the suffering of others than it is to teach him compassion.
we have to look at how Tanis acts in situations where Laurana and Kitiara are on an equal footing
What’s your opinion on Spring Dawning then? IMO, by that time, Tanis has realized how self centered Kit is, and realizes he’s fooled himself with thoughts that she only used that selfish exterior to protect herself.
if Laurana doesn’t like talking to Raistlin and fears and distrusts him, does she go to him for information about Kitiara
IMO, Caramon wouldn’t be honest. He’d stammer and stutter, and aw shucks his way out of the conversation. I highly doubt Tika has anything to do with it. She’s desperate to know, and knows Raistlin has no concern for her feelings, and will be honest.
And I completely agree with you about Par-Salian. I wasn’t the slight bit sad for him in Legends.
What’s your opinion on Spring Dawning then? IMO, by that time, Tanis has realized how self centered Kit is, and realizes he’s fooled himself with thoughts that she only used that selfish exterior to protect herself.
I see Tanis in Spring Dawning as basically trying to square a circle. In his heart of hearts he wants to be with Kitiara, but he also doesn’t want to think of himself as a bad person (which he obviously would be if he was willingly serving and loving a Dragon Highlord.) Thus his actions in the back half of the book basically involve him trying to find a way to rationalize being with Kitiara by making it part of a “sacrifice”. If he can tell himself that his being with Kitiara was a necessary sacrifice to save Laurana’s life, than he can be with Kitiara without having to feel guilty about it. He can eat his cake and have it too. Thus, he goes to great lengths to try and work such a deal with Kitiara.
Unfortunately for Tanis, Kitiara won’t play ball. Kit can’t stand the idea of the thought of Laurana being in Tanis’s heart, she would rather not have Tanis at all than have him tainted like that, and she thinks that if Tanis does “sacrifice” himself for Laurana than Laurana will always be in Tanis’s heart. As such Kitiara maneuvers Tanis into a situation where the only way he can be with her is to let her kill Laurana (which is the only way Kitiara will truly know that Tanis has 100% abandoned Laurana.) Tanis isn’t willing to do that. He might prefer Kitiara, but he still cares about Laurana, and he certainly isn’t going to just stand by and watch her be murdered. So Tanis ends up rejecting Kitiara, but he doesn’t reject her because he prefers Laurana on a woman to woman basis. Rather he rejects Kitiara because she basically imposed an impossible condition on Tanis for being with her, and as such he basically ends up with Laurana by default.
And how come every woman—every woman!—we encounter is meant to be the most beautiful girl in the world?
In Lake Wobegon, all the children are above average; on Krynn, every woman is the most beautiful in the world.
@5: In Lake Wobegon, all the children are above average; on Krynn, every woman is the most beautiful in the world.
Heh! Though to be fair, we have encountered some unattractive women in the story so far. Bupu is the obvious example, but there was also Maritta the seamstress in Pax Tharkas. (Her appearance is not actually described in Dragons of Autumn Twilight (which by itself suggests that she is not physically attractive since the Chronicles always tells us when a woman is good looking), but Dragons of the Dwarven Depths describes her as “middled-aged, stout, and plain-looking.”)
Also is it really that surprising that successful female adventurers would be attractive? To survive as an adventurer without magical abilities you would need to be physically fit and healthy. Young, physically fit, and healthy people almost always are physically attractive.
And anyway, Laurana is obviously the most beautiful woman in the story. That Laurana is more beautiful than Tika, Goldmoon, and Kitiara was made obvious in Autumn Twilight, when Sturm said and Tanis agreed with him that Laurana was the most beautiful woman either had ever seen. (Based on Raistlin, Caramon, and Riverwind’s reactions to Laurana it is safe to say they agreed with Tanis and Sturm’s statements.)
Laurana vs Alhana is less clear since there is never a direct comparison between the two in the story. However, it does seem significant that when Tanis first sees Alhana, he doesn’t think anything along the lines of “she’s even more beautiful than Laurana.” Some sort of comparison would be a pretty natural thought upon meeting a woman who is even more beautiful than the woman you thought was the most beautiful in the world, so the fact that Tanis doesn’t think anything along those lines suggests Tanis finds Laurana the more attractive of the two. Now obviously Tanis could be considered a biased source given his relationship with Laurana, but there’s also a scene in Spring Dawning where we get inside Tika’s head and see that she wishes she looked more like Laurana. That certainly suggests that Tika sees Laurana rather than Alhana as the exemplar of female beauty. (Especially since Tika had been around Alhana more recently than she had been around Laurana at that point in the story, and yet it was still Laurana’s beauty she admired.) And the kicker is the scene in Spring Dawning when Laurana rides into Kalaman, and her beauty literally mesmerizes every man, woman, and child in the city. That is a beauty feat far beyond anything we ever see Alhana achieve, and thus it seems clear that Laurana is the more beautiful of the two.
@5 I’d buy that they’d think EVERY girl in the world is the most beautiful, for a moment, if this were actually written as YA (that was original audience BUT the MCs would need to be younger for that to matter now), you might be able to hand wave that away, especially since the characters are such freaking bumpkins. (Bguy, you knew I’d mention it!) I’ll have my long form up once I re-read the chapters. I figure I probably have to beat bguy’s word count.
This would not have happened if Sturm had bent his pride and become one of the Knights Who Say Ni, who are after all, not hated in Tarsis at all.
IMO, Laurana’s beauty is a relatable beauty. She has blond hair and green eyes. LOTS of women have blond hair and green eyes. Alhana’s beauty is ethereal and otherworldly, with black hair and purple eyes. This is Debbie Reynolds vs Liz Taylor. Liz Taylor is considered “objectively” more beautiful, but Debbie Reynolds looks attainable, i.e. not so beautiful she wouldn’t talk to you.
I think Alhana’s beauty falls into the Uncanny Valley of Beauty, too beautiful to be appealing, whereas Laurana is the Goldilocks of Beauty, just right.
@9: IMO, Laurana’s beauty is a relatable beauty. She has blond hair and green eyes. LOTS of women have blond hair and green eyes. Alhana’s beauty is ethereal and otherworldly, with black hair and purple eyes. This is Debbie Reynolds vs Liz Taylor. Liz Taylor is considered “objectively” more beautiful, but Debbie Reynolds looks attainable, i.e. not so beautiful she wouldn’t talk to you.
Except Laurana’s beauty was specifically described as “elvish, otherworldly, mysterious” in Autumn Twilight. Laurana herself is clearly much more approachable than Alhana, but I think that is simply because Laurana is a much warmer, friendlier person (especially to non-elves) than Alhana is.
I think Alhana’s beauty falls into the Uncanny Valley of Beauty, too beautiful to be appealing, whereas Laurana is the Goldilocks of Beauty, just right.
Interesting thought, though I think you are underestimating just how overwhelming Laurana’s beauty is.
Here’s the relevant quote from Spring Dawning on Laurana’s entry into Kalaman:
She rode in first, alone, mounted on a pure white horse. The crowd, prepared to cheer, found themselves unable to speak, so awed were they by the woman’s beauty and majesty. Dressed in flashing silver armor decorated with beaten gold work, Laurana guided her steed through the city gates and into the streets. A delegation of children had been carefully rehearsed to strew flowers in Laurana’s path, but so overcome were the children at the sight of the lovely woman in the glittering armor that they clutched their flowers and never threw a single one.
That’s not the reaction to an attainable, relatable beauty. That’s the reaction to a goddess.
There’s also this quote about Laurana’s beauty from later in this novel.
The figure threw back the hood of her cloak. The Speaker saw honey-colored hair flow down around a woman’s face- a face remarkable even among the elves for it’s delicate beauty.
“Father!” she cried, then Laurana was in his arms.
That shows that even amongst the preternaturally beautiful elves, Laurana is considered a remarkable beauty.
As such there is no reason to believe that Alhana is “objectively” more beautiful than Laurana. Indeed the best evidence we have suggests the opposite is true. Alhana’s beauty was able to mesmerize a knight. Laurana’s beauty mesmerized an entire city.
Something is broken. There are just three lines, and when I click on “more”, nothing happens.