{"id":4526,"date":"2018-04-25T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4526"},"modified":"2018-04-22T08:46:22","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:46:22","slug":"mark-reads-on-ordeal-roshaun-chapter-3-part-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/04\/mark-reads-on-ordeal-roshaun-chapter-3-part-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads “On Ordeal: Roshaun” – Chapter 3, Part III"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the third part of the third chapter of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On Ordeal: Roshaun,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Roshaun figures out what he needs to do to take on the Lost Aethyr. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Young Wizards<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I just found this all so satisfying<\/i>. The answer to Roshaun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conundrum was in Mevseh and Avseh THE WHOLE TIME, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. But even if Duane manages to use a small detail to provide the reader with one hell<\/i> of a resolution, she never strays from demonstrating the cost<\/i> of choosing to do good. Sometimes, doing what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> the easier option, and Roshaun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clone is a perfect example of that.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m jumping ahead of myself! I had no goddamn idea how Roshaun was going to get out of such an impossible predicament:<\/p>\n

But what can I do? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way out of this. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t walk <\/i>both paths. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a paladin <\/i>and go home. If I go home, I risk my star, my world, my family. If I go out on the High Road forever, I do the Lost One\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s will and\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and probably die out there alone.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
To Duane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s credit, she builds a believably frustrating set of choices for Roshaun. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just a matter of rejecting the Lost Aethyr; Roshaun has to worry about the retaliation he, his family, and his world might face in the wake of such a choice. Look, we know from the previous books that the Lost One is not above being petty and vindictive. (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking specifically of The Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dilemma<\/i>, but there are plenty of other examples.) This is a real risk, and thus, Roshaun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s calculated response has<\/i> to take this into account. WHICH MEANS THE SOLUTION SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE. He can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t choose to leave home, or whatever he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meant to help with there will definitely happen. But if he returns home, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very real chance that things will be worse<\/i> for Wellakh. How the hell are you supposed to make a decision like that? There seemed to be no other option than, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153So, exactly how much do you want your people to suffer?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d BECAUSE THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN EITHER WAY.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Except it totally wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i>. The solution to this whole problem came from Roshaun realizing he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d asked the wrong question:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Not \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwhy can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I have both\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, but how <\/i>can I have both!<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And by rethinking this whole problem with the idea that he could do both<\/i>, Roshaun comes up with a solution: using wizardry to create a clone of himself that will leave Rirhath B and become a paladin wizard. Then, he uses invisibility to return home without being perceived, and he can deal with the inevitable problem that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll crop up there. He gets to do both<\/i>. Now, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a huge risk involved here, too, and the story doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore that either. My first concern was addressed before I could even bring it up on video, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that this more or less delays a confrontation with the Lost Aethyr. At some point, It is going to figure out that the version of Roshaun that died \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gloriously\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was not the real<\/i> Roshaun. But for the time being, Roshaun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hope is that the Lost Aethyr will simply get bored with watching Clone Roshaun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sad, tragically ironic attempt to go out into the world and save it. AND THAT PATH IS SO EXQUISITELY DESIGNED, ISN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T IT? Roshaun has to anticipate what the Lost Aethyr will find most deliciously horrific, and then he codes that path into his clone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
It sounds sad, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Well, this clone is fully sentient and<\/i> has free will, and Roshaun codes tragedy into the remainder of its existence, so you better BELIEVE that this is incredibly depressing. I just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 this exchange was a LOT.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Rho gulped, trying to get control of that lump in his throat. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I will think of you every day<\/i>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I know,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the other Rho. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The same for me. But know this: I understand what I will be saving. You and I, we are victors over the Lost One together.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
OKAY, HI, THIS IS REAL EMOTIONAL. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so bizarre<\/i>, too, since it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Rho talking to himself??? Well, talking to himself right at the branching point, as this version of himself will have a different set of experiences. Though those experiences will apparently be folded back into his life, right? I believe I read that part of the wizardry correctly. So, some day in the future, Rho will get a ton of experiences and memories merged in with his own, which is also strange and will certainly be intense. But y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, the most striking part of this entire affair occurs before<\/i> Roshaun enacts the wizardry. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when he learns the cost to himself to make all of this happen:<\/p>\n
And the Aethyr displayed a figure in his mind. It was an approximation of a certain amount of life energy, concentrated along a given temporal stretch.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Rho looked at it, and sucked in a breath. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at least three sunrounds of a life.<\/i><\/p>\n
My life<\/i>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
To me, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the real test in all of this, the one true element of this decision that makes it Roshaun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Challenge. And in the end, he chooses to take three years\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 worth of his own life in order to protect his own world and his own people. That<\/i> makes him qualified to be a wizard, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no surprise, then, that he became one shortly after this. He wanted to become a wizard, he knew there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be a cost to doing so, and he did it because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always desired. Well, and<\/i> because it was the right thing to do! He gave those years in service of the art and in service of all, and if that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sound like wizardry, then I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what does.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that this final section is going to be the one last thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been eagerly awaiting. ROSHAUN IS GOING TO TELL HIS PARENTS ABOUT HIS WIZARDRY. I enjoyed that prior to this, though, Roshaun has that moment in the Crossings when he realizes that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not<\/i> alone in the universe, that he can now converse with stars all over the galaxy. Given how much loneliness we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen in his story before this point, it meant a lot to see him have that interaction. Rho, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made it, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so proud of you.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZecwoqLBbGY<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the third part of the third chapter of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On Ordeal: Roshaun,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Roshaun figures out what he needs to do to take on the Lost Aethyr. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Young Wizards.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[542,510],"tags":[513,511],"class_list":["post-4526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interim-errantry-2","category-young-wizards","tag-diane-duane","tag-mark-reads-young-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4526","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=4526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4526\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}