In the seventh chapter of\u00c2\u00a0Daja<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Book<\/i>, Sandry continues to map her and her friends\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 power, and Frostpine reacts negatively to it. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Circle of Magic<\/i>.<\/p>\n
OUCH, MY HEART.<\/p>\n
Preparation<\/b><\/p>\n
Pierce continues to unsettle me with all these hints towards the UTTER DISASTER that awaits Gold Ridge. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trying to be secretive about this; we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re meant to expect the grassfires to get worse, and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re meant to mistrust Yarrun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s abilities. So this then becomes an unbearable waiting game. When will it happen? When will the fires spread quicker than they can be obtained? What damage will they cause? WHY AM I SO NERVOUS?<\/p>\n
Polyam<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SO FASCINATED WITH WHERE THIS CHARACTER HAS BEEN TAKEN. Let me quote Tris here:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Tris said, her voice hoarse. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153At first she acted like she almost hated Daja, but now she goes to all this trouble, getting food and offering to ride with us \u00e2\u20ac\u201c\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 She stopped, coughing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The trade-token that Polyam finally brings to Daja is\u00c2\u00a0unreal<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much better than I expected, even knowing that Polyam was taking this trade seriously. As Daja explains, the gift was from the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153caravan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s goods,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meaning that the caravan thinks\u00c2\u00a0better<\/i> of her than they did before. Which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s uncommon in general, I imagine, and then you factor in that Daja is\u00c2\u00a0trangshi<\/i> and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s completely unique. Why? I think the possible key to understanding Polyam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shifting behavior comes from Lark:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think partly she does it because she can,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lark explained when Tris caught her breath. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Because they let her. As wirok<\/i> she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a despised person. They give her their leavings \u00e2\u20ac\u201c\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And their scorn,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Rosethorn quietly. She had been seated at a desk, writing.<\/p>\n
Lark nodded. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But now, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only avenue for them to buy something they want. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s getting better food out of them than she might see for weeks, not to mention access to trade goods. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re listening to her now. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d take advantage, in her shoes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fascinating parallel between Daja and Polyam, though I recognize that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not in the same position within Trader culture. At least Polyam is still a part of the caravan, you know? But at the same time, Polyam is far down the ladder in the social hierarchy, and by drawing out this process, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finding ways to lift herself up, too. Does that mean she\u00c2\u00a0also<\/i> sympathizes with what Daja\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been going through since she was designated as\u00c2\u00a0trangshi<\/i>? Can she empathize with what it must feel like to be treated as less than worthy by your own people?<\/p>\n
I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. I like Lark\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s theory, but I still want to see more scenes with Polyam. THIS IS SO FASCINATING.<\/p>\n
Frostpine<\/b><\/p>\n
Exactly\u00c2\u00a0zero<\/i> people are surprised that Frostpine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s backstory resonated with me. I, too, was disturbed by the scene where Frostpine was furious at his colleagues for allowing their students to give up their magic to Sandry. I certainly didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d get an explanation for it within this chapter, but I sensed that Frostpine had a personal reason for his behavior. I mean, the dude wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t furious during a MASSIVE PIRATE ATTACK. Why would a controlled transfer of magic supervised by the best mages in Winding Circle upset him so much?<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always going to be drawn towards narratives that challenge the idea that parents can do no wrong. I had nothing like that growing up. I was raised to believe my parents were infallible and that they deserved a reverence and fear that was accorded such infallibility. As I became aware that how I was treated was not the norm (nor was it\u00c2\u00a0right<\/i>), it was\u00c2\u00a0incredibly<\/i> hard for me to understand where I fit in the world. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not easy to have to explain a complicated relationship with your parents like this to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, anyone. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s little framework or support in our society for it.
\nSo that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one reason why this hit me so hard. Like Frostpine, I know what it feels like to be dehumanized by your own parents, to be viewed not as a whole person or a son, but a means to an end.\u00c2\u00a0But I appreciate that Tamora Piece (as she did with Daine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character in\u00c2\u00a0The Immortals<\/i>) is willing to write something like this. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not easy to read, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sad just thinking about it now. No one should have to feel this way about the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153should\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t erase that it\u00c2\u00a0does<\/i> happen. So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thankful that this exists, because it tells people like me that what happened to me was real, that there are others out there who can empathize, and that I still have a place in the world.<\/p>\nIt matters to me.<\/p>\n
The original text contains use of the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153crazy.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dvq-iH4cmmw<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
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\n– The 2015 Mark Does Stuff tour is being announced!!! Please check my Tour Dates\/Appearances page often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the seventh chapter of\u00c2\u00a0Daja\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Book, Sandry continues to map her and her friends\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 power, and Frostpine reacts negatively to it. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Circle of Magic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[478,485,477],"tags":[482,250],"class_list":["post-3102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-circle-of-magic","category-dajas-book","category-emelan","tag-mark-reads-emelan","tag-tamora-pierce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3102\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}