In the second half of the eighth chapter of Wizard’s Holiday, Kit and Nita learn of the Alaalids’ Choice. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Young Wizards.Â
Oh no, something is wrong, isn’t it? This long scene didn’t make me feel better; if anything, I’m now more unnerved than I was before. Which is ridiculous, isn’t it? I learned that the Choice Quelt spoke of was a rejection of the Lone One! How is that a bad thing?
Unfortunately, this Choice only seems simple on the surface. To Quelt and her people, Druven, the man who appeared in Nita’s dream, is part of a myth. He is the only Alaalid in this history who didn’t outright reject what the Lone One offered. Now, Duane keeps the text self-aware in a sense; what the Lone One offers the Alaalid wizards isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Hell, we’ve seen the Lone One name a ridiculous price to numerous wizards prior to this. It tries to make the price seem fair at the time, but we all know it’s not. To their credit, the Alaalids outright reject what the Lone Offers them: an exemption to death and entropy, as long as they serve the Lone One as their master. I mean… can I just point out something?
The Lone Power had had eons of practice at making Its case, and was extremely good at befuddling the innocent and putting one over on the clever.
That’s absolutely true, and we’ve seen how skilled It is. Seriously, the Lone One almost got Nita! However, I had to laugh at the Lone One’s confidence during a scene where It literally tried to get people to agree to having a “master.†Like… is that really your best technique? It’s so easy to see that as a bad choice! Of course, maybe the other Alaalid wizards weren’t Its target. I don’t get Druvah’s place within all of this. Apparently, he disappeared right after the Choice, angered that his fellow wizards did not listen to Ictanikë/Lone One and give them a fair chance. So he… wandered? A lot? Refused to ever be around anyone else? Is he dead, or was the glimpse of him in Dairine’s dream a sign of something else?
That’s what makes me so uneasy. Druvah could very well still be out there. And what if he did make a deal with the Lone One???
I am thrilled to confirm that I will be a Guest at CrossingsCon 2017! Badges are now available, so COME HANG OUT WITH ME THIS SUMMER.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__PXKdcv84U
Mark Links Stuff
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