In the sixth chapter of Briar’s Book, Briar finds that his mentor and teacher needs support as well. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Circle of Magic.
Trigger Warning: For talk of disease.
My body was not ready for this.
This is the hardest of the Circle of Magic books to read because it’s so quickly uncomfortable and grim. As the blue pox spreads throughout the city, this feels less and less like it can be stopped. Even if we accept at this point that the pox spreads through water, what can these people do? I’m sure there are preventative measures they could take, such as boiling all water that one uses for bathing or cooking or drinking or cleaning, but it’s also POURING DOWN RAIN OUTSIDE. Everyone would have to stay indoors at all times??? It’s disastrous! Of course, since the entirety of this chapter takes place indoors at Urda’s House, we get an inside view of how brutal this disease is, particularly in how quickly it’s spreading.
Of course, one of the biggest reasons this chapter is so emotionally exhausting is because Pierce takes the horror of this epidemic and makes it extremely personal. Rosethorn discovers that someone who worked at Urda’s House sold off nearly all of the supplies that she’d been bringing there for the last year and a half. A PLEASANT DISCOVERY, Y’ALL. And yet, it’s utterly unsurprising that someone would take advantage of the charity of others. But there’s no room or time to seek revenge here; they’ve got to refresh the stores as quickly as possible to counter the affects of the blue pox. And that’s something Pierce doesn’t let us forget. The pox is spreading fast. It’s ruthless, and now, it’s reaching districts that aren’t poor. (How much you wanna bet that the city officials will suddenly care about the blue pox now that the rich are getting it? OH, I’M PREPARED FOR THAT EVENTUAL TWIST.)
So Briar and Rosethorn settle down for this “long, dull, thankless chore,†which involves them using their magic to “become the queen tree.†I am only now realizing how much foreshadowing there is in this plot, y’all. These two have to become a stronger power in order to refresh the stores of magical herbs, bringing them back from near death so that the rest of Urda’s House can help combat the blue pox. WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT BRIAR HAS TO DO WITH ROSETHORN. Oh my god, I understand a thing. It’s so fun when that happens! The renewal is an important part of helping curb blue pox, but we then see how Rosethorn herself needed a renewal, too. I’m talking about this all calmly, as if this wasn’t one of the most heartbreaking things Tamora Pierce has written, because it’s the only way I can address this without becoming a mess. Look, I think this is a bold moment to include in a YA novel, particularly since adults are not often portrayed in vulnerable ways in this genre. (Which isn’t to say they’re never portrayed that way, of course.) But within the context of Briar and Rosethorn’s relationship, her emotional break is the only time Briar’s ever thought of her as needing anyone or anything else. And he doesn’t criticize her for feeling this way, nor does he make any sort of comment that would poke fun at her for behaving as such. No, when he comes out of a magical trance to find her weeping, he experiences an immense wave of sympathy and sadness for her:
To hear her apologize for a fit of weeps just as the girls did nearly broke his heart. He’d never guessed how much of himself he’d tacked to Rosethorn, who feared nothing and nobody.
But he doesn’t pity her for the sake of it; he finds out that she misses her home and her friends and her students and a world where she’s not pulled in a million directions. She misses Discipline, so what does Briar do?
He brings Discipline to her.
Through Tris (whose sober reaction tells me ALL I NEED TO KNOW about her awareness of how serious this situation was), Briar gets his shakkan and a number of plants and herbs brought to Urda’s House. (Let’s have another moment of heartbreak for that point where Tris sadly remarks that she probably won’t get to see Briar. SHE CARES SO MUCH FOR THAT LITTLE GOOBER, OH MY GOD.) When he puts these plants near, Rosethorn, she renews:
After a minute or two color returned to her skin, changing ashen to cream. Her lips bloomed from white to pink. Her hair, which had looked brown over the last few days, developed a chestnut glow.
It was like she was dead, he realized with a shudder. Like she was dead, and somehow brought back to life.
Lord, I AM SO MOVED BY THIS PASSAGE. Little Briar, who never had a soul care about him, gave his mentor life again. He did it because he cared deeply about her, because he knows she is vital to the survival of this place, and because he knows she would do anything for him. MY HEART IS GOING TO BURST FROM THE EMOTIONS I AM EXPERIENCING.
It just sucks that Briar’s hope and joy is crushed so quickly after this. He’s still so young, and he’s trapped within a quarantined house that’s got to be horrifying him on some level. To be surrounded by so many sick people without a single one being cured yet must be a terrible thing to experience. I suppose there’s a small light at the end of the tunnel, since Flick appears to be getting better. But a fever can come in waves, you know? I won’t trust this until she actually gets better. And for now, Briar is still stuck in that house, away from his friends and his home and his dog. It’s… distressing, to say the least. I’M SCARED.
http://youtu.be/jQ5SA-anpIM?a
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