In the ninth chapter of Daja’s Book, CIRCLE OF FEELINGS. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Circle of Magic.Â
THERE’S JUST SO MUCH DEPTH TO EVERYTHING HERE, Y’ALL.
Yarrun / Daja
It’s understandable that, beyond the threat of fires in Gold Ridge, these kids would get frustrated with their presence in North Emelan. I found it interesting that Daja was bored specifically because of the kind of work she was doing:
The sight of them carefully straining oil from aloe lent more fuel to Daja’s temper. Didn’t they realize it was make-work? Yarrun wasn’t about to let any fires break out of control!
At the time, I latched on to Daja’s misguided sense of Yarrun’s ability. Okay, sure, he might not let any fires break out of control, but I still don’t trust him. Yes, he’s very good at taming fires, but there are other issues at hand that I’m worried about. However, I now realize how important this is to understanding the conversation Yarrun has with Daja.
Which, in and of itself, was a shocking thing. I never thought I’d get a scene between just these two, but HERE IT IS. And lord, it’s so satisfying. It’s even more uncomfortable than I anticipated, and it also helps to explain why Yarrun is the way he is. That’s a complicated thing to dissect, though, because I don’t want to ignore the extreme entitled bitterness that he exhibits. I think there’s some validity to what he tells Daja here, but it’s compounded by where he takes it. Daja wanted to get some time away from her work, and instead, she walks right into Yarrun’s trap of… well, anger. Rage. Resentment.
He’s furious that Rosethorn recommended a controlled burn. And yes, while Gold Ridge could benefit from the almond orchards, Yarrun dismisses her ideas not because they aren’t sound, but because she hasn’t jumped through the hoops that he’s designated. Education is everything to Yarrun; there’s no room for instinct or feeling.
“If you rely only on intuition or magic to interpret what you observe, you will think that animals truly are wise, not that they’ve learned if they do a thing it will please you. You will believe that only the proper ceremonies will ensure that the sun rises every day, as the people of the Kurchal Empire once did.”
Yes, this is absurd, but it’s also an unfair, incorrect portrayal. They’re not relying solely on such things! Plus, there’s a false equivalency made between religious belief and actual emotion, which reminds of the worst kind of atheist, you know? Again, this isn’t what the Winding Circle mages are teaching their students. There’s a different kind of education going on here, but Yarrun refuses to accept it. For a very specific reason, I might add:
“You are young. Young, and gifted with unusual magics. You are to be congratulated.”
I, like Daja, was flustered by this. It made no sense to me at all. But when Yarrun finally did elaborate on what he meant (after a ton of awkward silence????? HE IS SO WEIRD), I suddenly saw how Pierce had foreshadowed his own characterization:
“People like you and Niklaren Goldeye will never be just another mage. Youw ill never work day in and day out at ordinary spells – never mind that our world cannot do without spells to keep food from spoilage, or spells to hunt down criminals. Ordinary mages live in shabby rooms. They scramble for money to pay for rent and supplies. And the moment someone like Goldeye comes to town, no one has time for you anymore. You aren’t as interesting as he is – you aren’t as famous. You just do the spells to ward off pickpockets, and keep plumbing and chimneys from clogging.”
Remember, Daja had just complained about make-work, as if it was something that wasn’t worth her time. And this totally made me wonder if there truly was some sort of hierarchy in the mage world. Was this Yarrun’s perspective or was it reality? I always got the sense that the Winding Circle mages were the outcasts of the magical world, the weirdos who were looked down upon for being unlike everyone else. At the same time, I don’t doubt that there is a sense of elitism at work, particularly when it comes to flashy displays of magic. You see that kind of dynamic at work in classist systems, where the necessary work – the stuff people are most dependent on – is often given to the people who are least appreciated and valued in society
But Daja makes a great point right after this rant of Yarrun’s: none of these people chose their powers or how they manifested within them. Education be damned, each of the Discipline students had these powers forced upon them. That’s not necessarily something to be celebrated in every context, and Yarrun’s obsession with fame is one of them. That’s not what Daja, Tris, Briar, or Sandry want. At all.
Circle of Feelings
I AM JUST SO OVERWHELMED WITH SANDRILENE FA TOREN. After she is faced with the daunting task of having to separate the threads of her friends’ magic as best as she could, I figured it wouldn’t happen until the next chapter at the very least. Lark made it clear that this wasn’t an easy or common task at all. And yet? What does Sandry do? SHE FINISHES IT IN A SINGLE SITTING. How is she real? How am I allowed to be graced with her presence at all??? I AM NOT WORTHY.
Y’all, she separates the threads of magic by distilling her friends down to their essence and their feelings. Like…. there are few things in this whole universe specifically written for me? This is it? THIS IS THE APEX, IT’S ALL DOWNHILL FROM HILL. (It’s probably not, oh god.) Because this sentence has destroyed me forever:
“I was looking for treasure,” he’d said once, except the treasure was hers: a new life, and magic, and friends who were more than life.
STOP IT. STOP. IT. Sandry’s purity – her belief in the good faith of everyone around her – will turn me to dust. I’m convinced of it. It’s so meaningful to me to read a book where these young people can affect their world so positively and it’s never degraded or dismissed. If it weren’t for the Discipline kids, would the Duke have ever found a solution to the problems in Gold Ridge? Which isn’t to say that the veins of copper or the glacier are the answer to every problem. But, as Frostpine says, Sandry has done the work of “giants” here, all out of a genuine desire to help people she’ll probably never see again or who will never know her contributions. It’s a beautifully optimistic thing, and I love it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NHawGQWQM8
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