User blog comment:SaynaSLuke/Seven Tears Shed/@comment-2142396-20170318161728

Ublaz takes it all way better than I expected, I’ll admit. Oh yes, he is pretty angry and I’m sure that some beasts and maybe even lizards are going to lose their heads for their mistakes, but all in all, Ublaz shows himself as a true chessmaster who can make good use out of his loss. Now, he lost the prisoners, but he knows that Romsca and Xzaris are alive, suspects that the pearls are on the island and even figured out Xzaris’s involvement with the pearl keepers before Xzaris himself, even if it’s a case of Ublaz being right for wrong reasons. ;) Yep, Ublaz had just become angrier and that means he is even more dangerous…

You know, the dragons’ attitude regarding Romsca and her friends continues to vex me, mostly because the dragons keep looking down on furbeasts, considering themselves to be so superior that they leave them without guards and don’t even view them as a threat. It would’ve been a different thing all together if the dragons did so because they trust Romsca and her friends, but they stated that they don’t. I would’ve been almost offended at such condescending approach, because they underestimate the vermin greatly and even though the dragons are much stronger and have numerical advantage, there is a lot of damage the vermin could do. A dragon can be killed by a stab through the eye or strangling, and what if the vermin use poison somehow? What if they learn the lay of the city and tunnels and use it to their advantage, like collapsing some supports? What if they escape and give out the location of the Vale of Dragons to the other corsairs? I’m not saying that Romsca would or should do that, but the dragons dismiss the possibility all together, as if they don’t take vermin seriously at all, and that’s a mistake.

Now, I really wonder what it was that Xzaris feels is ‘wrong’ and ‘cold’ about Romsca, because while she does have her share of inner demons to fight, there is no black magic touching her or anything like that to make him feel so creeped out. I suppose that the Flowers of Icetor may give off the effect of ‘cold’, but how can they feel ‘wrong’ if the Flowers themselves are the gift of Ignasa? Rasconza’s strategy is a very valid one – guerilla tactics with quick hit-and-run attacks is probably the only way just one ship can oppose Ublaz’s whole fleet. However, even then Rasconza wouldn’t be able to endure this war for long – with Ublaz’s forces being so superior in numbers, it wouldn’t take Ublaz long to send the ratguards and Monitors to sweep through the island and its shore and discover his hideout. That is true regarding Romsca and the dragons as well – Ublaz will turn the island upside down looking for them, so all the rebels are in grave danger. Oh, the bats! I admit I waited their introduction for a long time, and after remembering how serious and down-to-earth the bats of Southsward had been, Ting and Tai are pretty hilarious. From the first moment, it’s clear that the two are related to Loki (I think). :D So even though I can see why Isan is so exasperated with them, they are too fun of an addition. Plus, there comes a moment that I’ve been wondering about for a long time as well – where exactly Rasconza will stand when he meets Romsca and Xzaris again? It’s clear that he is Ublaz’s enemy through and through and would fight against him, but it was implied that he is more ‘grey’ character than Romsca and Xzaris, so I can suggest that he probably wouldn’t like the idea of working together with the dragons and woodlanders…

The scenes with Selina hit me right at the feels just as before. Even when we view it from Rasconza’s perspective, the casual… cruelty of the situation, for the lack of better word, is apparent. Even when Rasconza gives Selina new clothes, it’s clear that he did so not out of kindness or compassion, but rather a practicality of keeping your tools in good order so that you can better use them. Wind is right in the aspect that even though Rasconza treats his slaves better than other pirates, it’s still wrong. Selina’s words about how her wish for freedom almost got her killed once made me wonder if that was how she got her scars. Since slavery and cruelty go hand-in-hand, I didn’t think much of them before, but if Selina tried to escape and was punished for it so severely, there is a new layer of pain and despair to her backstory.

I like the detail that while Lutran did bring the art of forging back to life in the Vale of Dragons, he wasn’t the first blacksmith there – after all, he had to learn the craft from someone, right? ;) It’s nice to see this craft bring out his creative side – even if what he invents is designed for killing first and foremost, he really has a talent I never expected from him. I also love that thoughtful and careful side of Lutran we get to see when he is with Grath. But still, even then Lutran is focused on the war and revenge foremost – when Grath grieves for her friends, the first thing he says is that she should train to be able to avenge them. I get the feeling that his reaction stems mostly from his hate of vermin rather than his desire to take care of Grath and protect her and his adopted family, as he had claimed. I don’t doubt that what Lutran had said about the reasons of his hate is true, and I can understand his anger and despair at losing all he had and then having to tolerate the vermin that had destroyed his life, but when Lutran throws the phrase ‘I’ll always be better than vermin because I’ve been born better’… Well, I’d say he goes too far there, cause that’s not him being angry at vermin for what they had done, but rather him being hateful.

I think Grath is being unnecessary harsh on herself – her love of drawing is a talent that she shouldn’t shut down even if it brings no practical use, and her archery is a skill that requires strength and precision that had saved more than one life on their quest. It’s true that she isn’t as deadly as Lutran, and she didn’t truly attempt to push out of her comfort zone while she lived in Redwall, but she did take the fight back to the pirates when it mattered. Though considering that it was Grath’s plan that almost got them all killed, I’m not surprised that she feels like a failure… Grath’s reunion with her friends weren’t as heartfelt as the one she had with her brother, but I simply loved Shui’s excitement at finally having a sister, though I’m not sure if Grath would actually appreciate mud baths and scale paint. ;P

Grath and Romsca’s meeting was brief but more meaningful, I suppose. I like the idea that Grath wasn’t as shaken by their first encounter as Romsca – after all, this random act of kindness wasn’t anything unusual for a woodlander. Okay, the fact that Romsca was a vermin who spared a woodlander’s life can be considered unusual, but she didn’t exactly go out of her way to protect Grath. She did what was a right thing to do, but that’s not something I would consider heroic, and I’m glad that Romsca realized that. However, it was different situation when Romsca chose to fight to protect Durral and Sayna – that time, she took action instead of just stepping aside, so that’s something she should be proud of. Also, even though Romsca didn’t herself take part in the raid on holt Lutra, Grath’s sadness and Lutran’s anger still held merit because Romsca was still a part of the nation that destroyed their family and thus shares the blame, if that makes any sense. And I think Romsca herself tends to blame herself, that’s why she doesn’t argue with the otters.

If there is one Isan’s decision I agree with and respect him for, it’s how he judged that the pearls should be given to Grath – considering her ability to think clearly and not allow anger to cloud her judgment, she would be the best choice to keep them. (That’s not to say that I dislike Isan, it’s just that his ‘you almost died to help us but that’s not enough for me to trust you’ position irks me.) And the pearls are actually glowing? That must mean that they are finally activated – maybe because they are so close to their wielders now? That being said, Martin and Xzaris’s abilities suddenly springing up back during the fight on the docks may also be due to the pearls – after all, they had been in Romsca’s satchel all the time…