In the twenty-second chapter of\u00c2\u00a0Battle Magic<\/i>, WHY DID ALL THIS NICE STUFF HAVE TO HAPPEN FIRST? If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Battle Magic<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For discussion of torture and PTSD.<\/b><\/p>\n
GAH, THIS JUST HURTS EVEN MORE, KNOWING THE END RESULT. It’s not just the calm before the storm, though that dynamic is certainly present here. This chapter is Evvy’s time to shine, to make a stand for the people she cares about, and the thousands she’ll never actually get to know. I now read the opening scene here so much differently than I did the first time because I can see Evvy struggling with the choice she’s about to make.<\/p>\n
Pierce presents that as a\u00c2\u00a0very<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0difficult and complicated thing for Evvy, too. She’s Yanjingyi, and it’s impossible for those around her not to see that. Yet she doesn’t let this discourage her, and even if these people are being horrible to her, she never once thinks that she shouldn’t protect the Gyongxean people. She appreciates where she is; she marvels at the gods; and she breaks down in tears during a conversation with the God-King because she can’t fathom him getting hurt like she was. She filters this experience through herself, sure, and I think it’s hard for her\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to. The Yanjingyi army tortured her, and so she\u00c2\u00a0easily<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0projects that same treatment onto the God-King.<\/p>\n
It goes further than that, though:<\/p>\n
Evvy suddenly had another horrible image in her head: The God-King, chained as Parahan had been chained, at the foot of Weishu’s throne. He said all she had ever done was visit Gyongxe, but all he had ever done was spend long days on his uncomfortable-looking throne, listening to people complain, or at meetings with adults who talked at him, not to him, or reading messages. Did he ever get to run and play as the boys did? She felt a hand squeeze her heart.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Evvy is formulating her concept of justice. She knows that what happened to her was wrong and evil. Here, she’s realizing that what Weishu and his army are doing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or might do \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is inherently evil and wrong, too. What could the God-King have possibly done to deserve what was coming? How could someone like Weishu think as they do and act as they do? Thus, Evvy makes a choice that I imagine will have ramifications in the next chapter:<\/p>\n
Evvy watched, thinking, I can’t take Rosethorn and briar from him. If I go, I bet Luvo will return to his mountain, so I can’t take Luvo, either \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if he’ll stay for me, anyway. But I can’t leave and turn a whole country over to Weishu. Not without trying to help.<\/p>\n
I just can’t let them get me again, that’s all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I should say that we see the ramifications of this choice in\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0chapter, too. But gods, y’all, she has EVERY RIGHT to want to leave this place, to save herself, to get as far from the emperor as humanly possible, and she makes the conscious decision to STAY.<\/p>\n
I love Evvy so much.<\/p>\n
That’s not to suggest there aren’t consequences to this. Both Briar and Evvy are still dealing with the trauma they’ve experienced while in this war. In Briar’s case, his trauma manifests as extremely unsettling nightmares, all in which either he or Evvy wind up dead. (FUCK THAT SECOND NIGHTMARE.) Yet, like Evvy, he finds a way to push past this. A great deal of this chapter contains preparation for the inevitable second battle with Weishu’s forces, so it’s a lot “slower” than the recent chapters. That’s okay, though. I definitely felt nervous once I realized that because it only meant my life was about to be torn apart.<\/p>\n
Exactly how, though? I\u00c2\u00a0think<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0I know what happened at the end of this chapter, but it’s entirely possible I just got it wrong.\u00c2\u00a0I saw the preparations as a momentary break from the war, but\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 did something happen to these people? Both Sayrugo and the God-King report that their scouts were late in reporting back, so I’m curious if this is the reason that Weishu’s people were able to get into Garmashing. Did someone else perhaps sell them out? Betray them? No, I don’t know that I see that as a possibility. I was instead drawn to the inability of\u00c2\u00a0anyone<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to stay awake the night before the siege. Perhaps that’s the result of the calming tea that Evvy brewed, but\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 WHAT IF IT IS NOT. How did Weishu’s people get past all the possible safeguards??? I DON’T UNDERSTAND. And now I’m worried because this is literally Evvy’s worst nightmare, isn’t it? They’re all captured, and Weishu can do whatever he wants to them.<\/p>\n
UGH, I AM REALLY UPSET AND I AM SCARED OF THE NEXT CHAPTER.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xaRrKHqOL_I<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
-\u00c2\u00a0I am now on Patreon<\/a><\/b>!!!\u00c2\u00a0MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME<\/a>.
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016!\u00c2\u00a0Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My\u00c2\u00a0Master Schedule<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be\u00c2\u00a0Death Note<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a0Neon Genesis Evangelion<\/em>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the twenty-second chapter of\u00c2\u00a0Battle Magic, WHY DID ALL THIS NICE STUFF HAVE TO HAPPEN FIRST? If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Battle Magic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507,477,502],"tags":[482,250],"class_list":["post-3737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-battle-magic","category-emelan","category-the-circle-reforged","tag-mark-reads-emelan","tag-tamora-pierce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3737\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}