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A content warning regarding torture applies.

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Following a brief note on torturous punishment from one of the Four at Clerres, “Bee’s Book” begins with Fitz adapting to the Tarman and the liveship’s strange resonance with his magics. Despite concerns, he determines to Skill to the Six Duchies and reviews preparations for doing so with the Fool, whose condition he considers. When he reaches out into the magic, he finds Chade waiting for him, seemingly striving to immerse himself within the Skill, and Fitz thrusts the old man into the waiting presences of Nettle and Dutiful. Leaving only a message that he will send word by mundane means, he returns to himself, rattled, and his condition startles the Fool. The two confer uneasily for a time, and the Fool, adopting the persona of Amber, departs.

After, Fitz and the Fool quarrel over Bee’s journals, Fitz wanting to keep something of his daughter to himself, as well as his shame at not being more present for her early on. But he relents and discloses Bee’s dreams to the Fool, and the pair bemoan her loss.

Fitz notes difficulty sleeping aboard the Tarman, contrasting the experience to sleeping alongside Nighteyes years before as he marks the continued passage down the Rain Wild River. One morning, Spark confers with Fitz about her part in his quarrel with the Fool. Fitz finds his anger at her dying away, and the conversation ends in an awkward quiet.

Later, the Tarman reaches a settlement on the Rain Wild, the setting described. Rain Wild architecture is explained to Fitz. Some of the social tensions at work along the Rain Wild River are noted, as are entanglements surrounding Althea, Brashen, and the Paragon. Fitz finds himself again desiring and unable to send his companions away.

At length, the Tarman pulls into Trehaug, and the liveship’s crew begins to bid farewell to Fitz and his companions. The city is described as Fitz encounters it, and he sights the waiting liveship Paragon. Seeing his own face upon it, he starts, and the Fool as Amber notes that all can be explained.

The present chapter, glossing travel that in earlier volumes takes many chapters to enact, serves principally to relocate Fitz and his companions to a more “useful” location. The travel is not the important thing in itself; what the travel allows is. One thing it allows is a suggestion not only of the passage of time among the various components of the Realm of the Elderlings series, but also of the progress and development of various areas within it. While the seemingly swifter passage from Kelsingra to Cassarick and thence to Trehaug is doubtlessly partly a result of going downstream rather than up, more of it is likely to be greater familiarity with the waterways involved, which is something that can only come about with repeated round trips between the settlements over time. Too, the noted population density suggests that Rain Wild society is growing and prospering, and even the noted tensions between Cassarick and other settlements along the river are suggestive; the people on the river have the luxury of being at odds with one another. All of this suggests, at least to my reading, that the Rain Wilds are doing better than they previously had, and as I reflect on it, I wonder if I can tie so much back to the parallels to the early United States I’ve identified as being at work in the Liveship Traders and Rain Wilds novels. I suppose it adds another to my sprawling collection of scholarly somedays.

On the topic of tensions surrounding Cassarick: I appreciate seeing that they are, in fact, in place. It is too much to expect that so loose a polity as the Traders seem to have would be united in the absence of an overt outside threat (perhaps another parallel to the early United States under the Articles of Confederation applies); it is entirely fitting that the various city-states, even if having commonalities of culture, would find themselves at odds with one another from time to time. From its early introduction, Cassarick is not exactly the nicest of places, and some of its leadership does present itself as unacceptably predatory and aligned with adverse interests, so it makes sense, too, that it would find itself under some opprobrium. There’s not a nice, neat “and they all lived happily ever after” here; we see the after, and it’s not entirely happy, although there is happiness to be found in it. It’s a good bit of verisimilitude in a series that, despite being clearly fantasy, makes much of such things.

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A content warning applies regarding suicidal ideation.

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Following commentary from Chade regarding the degradation of Skill knowledge in the Six Duchies, “The Tarman” opens with Fitz and his companions watching the titular liveship arrive. Fitz contrasts the arrival of the vessel with his experience of the docks at Buckkeep as the situation is described, and the Fool as Amber lays out some of the liveship’s nature and history.

The Tarman ties off, and Fitz and his companions are greeted by Leftrin and Alise. Introductions are made, and Fitz finds the liveship registering to his magics, and Fitz finds himself the subject of the ship’s own inquiry. Leftrin notes the oddity of the event and guides Fitz to commune with the ship. The Tarman, in turn, recognizes Fitz as claimed by a dragon, Verity. Fitz accepts the claim, and the liveship agrees to bear him downstream. So much noted, Leftrin shows Fitz about the ship and lays out the schedule that must be followed for the plans that have been made to be enacted.

The next day sees preparations made for departure and gifts given to Fitz and his companions. Fitz learns something of the liveships and compares them to his experience of stone dragons, and he sits amiably with several of his companions, Leftrin, and Alise as they begin downstream. Soon enough, as the trip downriver commences, Fitz’s companions find themselves engaged with the crew, and Fitz takes comfort in the relative boredom of the trip. He also learns from the Fool more of Clerres and his youth there, including the efforts to convince him that he was not the White Prophet of the age and his introduction to Ilistore.

The effort of recall pushes the Fool to panic, and Fitz offers such comfort as he can, relating his own experience of desiring death and not desiring it. Given the possibilities they face, Fitz does agree to prepare something the Fool can use to die rather than suffer in Clerres again.

The downriver journey continues, the scenery described and contrasted with the terrain of the Six Duchies. Fitz begins to think of his home, and he and the Fool confer privately and ominously while the crew overnights ashore along the way.

The present chapter is not the first to carry the name of the eponymous liveship; that, I believe, happens back in Dragon Haven, here. As is ever the case with chapters titled the same or substantively similarly (here, the earlier chapter lacks the article that the present chapter has), there is a temptation to read them against each other, to see how the one foreshadows the other or the other references the one. As is often the case with me, such things have to be left to some scholarly someday; I write what I can when I can, and that doesn’t often or always allow me as much time to do the writing or the kind of writing that I would like to do. But if it is the case that someone else does such work and beats me to it, I’d love to see it; I’ve got places to refer to it and other writing that I can do in response, and I’m always glad to have more to say about the Realm of the Elderlings novels.

The present chapter also offers a useful indication of the chronology at work in the Realm of the Elderlngs novels, Leftrin noting “we’ve had close to a score of years” to improve the Tarman‘s passenger quarters since the vents of the Rain Wilds novels. I’ve not done the work (yet?) to slot matters together more firmly, although I know Hobb makes enough mention of other events–Fitz’s estimated age, the time needed for Dutiful and Elliania to have children who grow to adulthood as defined in the milieu, and the the like–to allow for at least a rough reckoning. I know, too, that there’s not an exact calendar necessarily at work throughout the texts, no parallel to Appendices B and D of Lord of the Rings. It’s not so much a surprise, really; I’ve said once or twice before that Hobb moves away from the Tolkienian fantasy tradition, so one more way in which she does so is not to be wondered at.

I think also that the present chapter does somewhat to reaffirm the setting-divergence from which I make the argument about Hobb’s divergence from the Tolkienian fantasy tradition. If nothing else, there’s a lot of physical description of the Rain Wild River and its course that repeats what appears in earlier series, so it reinforces the claims I make about those earlier novels and their functions. I’d have to (re-)re-read the earlier works to be sure, admittedly, but I have some cause to do so. Not all of my scholarly efforts are consigned to unknown somedays; some of them actually have deadlines and set dates, and while I can’t necessarily discuss them at length beforehand, I do have a tendency to put here what I deliver first elsewhere. I’ll doubtlessly do so again.

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Following another excerpt from Bee’s dream journals, “Tintaglia” begins with Reyn calling on Fitz and the Fool in their chambers to note the arrival of the Tarman. Details of the liveship’s berthing are reported, and Reyn excuses himself. Afterwards, the Fool rebukes Fitz for having gotten him drunk and prepares to meet with Thymara as Amber.

Later, Fitz and Lant go out into Kelsingra, Fitz thinking to revisit the map-tower familiar to him, having lost the map Chade had given him in the bear attack. Their progress is interrupted by the reported arrival of Tintaglia, whom Fitz and Land discuss as they move to join the throng of those greeting her return. They see Reyn, Malta, and Phron greet the dragon, and they witness Tintaglia discover the changes that have been wrought in Phron, to her annoyance. Fitz answers her challenge, and he knows he faces death before the arrival of Heeby offers a distraction.

The dragons’ conference somewhat mollifies Tintaglia, who decides not to kill Fitz. Fitz presses for information, and it is revealed that Tintaglia also lacks knowledge of Clerres. She purposes to seek it after she is tended and issues directives to that effect, sending the Elderlings scrambling to fulfill them. Fitz, shaken, considers what he has learned and retires, Lant and the Fool tending him. They confer about events, and the Fool makes himself available to answer questions about Clerres that Fitz puts to him, laying out more of its structures and development. Prilkop’s experience in Clerres and the Fool’s are contrasted.

Over the next days, the Fool lays out more of his knowledge of Clerres to Fitz. Details of its physical layout emerge, as does more about its organization. The effort of recall exhausts the Fool, however.

Fitz sorts and considers what he learns from the Fool about their objective. He takes stock of his supplies and other resources, advised about the latter by Spark. Lant and Perseverance include themselves into Fitz’s planning, and the Fool seemingly cannot refuse a bitter joke.

The present chapter reads to me, at least partly, as an attempt to paper over some plot-holes introduced not long before. The antagonism between the Servants and the dragons does seem like something that other dragons than Heeby would remember, yet even Tintaglia, who did not suffer the over-long time as a serpent that affected so many dragons so badly, does not have memory of it. (Icefyre could be expected to, as seems to be the case in the chapter.) Comments about dragons’ memories in the present chapter seem calculated to account for the gaps in knowledge, offering what seems a reasonably neat explanation of why such a thing hadn’t come up before. This is in a Watsonian sense; the Doylist is, of course, that Hobb is making it up as she goes along. It’s a work of fiction, though, so so much is to be expected; there’s really no other way to go about doing it. But I appreciate that such an effort is made.

Relatedly, I appreciate that the present chapter makes so many explicit references to earlier events. One of the things that I have tried to do throughout my rereading is point out where a text refers to its predecessors; it’s something of a habit from my days trying to be a scholar that I try to cite sources and trace ideas, even if it’s not something I necessarily do in a formal and rigorous way most of the time at this point in my life. (Witness this, for example.) Admittedly, the earlier parts of the Realm of the Elderlings novels cannot do as much of this as later parts; the simple fact of having more to refer to makes reference easier to carry out. But even later parts are not always good about such things. This is not itself bad; a new work does need to have new things to say and new ways to say them. Still, the idea of multiple novels and series working within a common milieu suggests that there ought, at times, to be acknowledgments of the common threads moving among them. That the present chapter makes such acknowledgments, and that it also attempts to address how the new ideas it contains can fit in with what has already been established and asserted, reads to me as a good thing.

It’s not the only thing that does, but it certainly does.

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Another brief excerpt from Bee’s dream journals precedes “Beggar.” The chapter begins with Bee considering her isolation in Chalced as she continues to hide from Dwalia and her company. Wolf-Father continues to advise her as she reconnoiters her surroundings and assesses her own condition, but the advice he can give is limited by geography.

As the area stirs to daily life, Bee reflects on what she knows of Chalcedean events, including the overthrow of the previous rulership. Bee plots to present herself as a mute beggar and sets about securing funds and food. There is some success at that task, and Bee finds some comfort briefly before recalling her encounter with the Fool and its ending.

Bee rests, waking late and retreating to where she had previously reconnoitered. She takes stock of her situation and moves to address it, sleeping again to wake in tears in the night. To Wolf-Father’s comments, Bee responds angrily, and the next day sees her venture out into Chalced for food once again. Danger presents itself to her, and Bee observes the work of other beggars and thieves in the local market. At Wolf-Father’s insistence, she rejects an offer of seeming kindness made to her, and she withdraws once again to where she had hidden before.

The following day, Bee ventures out again and is robbed of what few coins she has. Thus reduced, she seeks out a target for theft and makes an attempt at stealing bread to feed herself, securing a loaf but being apprehended for doing so. Bee is made to give some account for herself and is taken into custody awaiting sale as a slave to offset the damage her theft has caused. The captivity is not as bad as could be, as Bee is fed decently and not otherwise accosted, and she confers with Wolf-Father, who urges her to rest and heal as she can.

Bee wakes still in captivity and recovers somewhat. Another day passes with her imprisoned until Dwalia arrives to claim her. Bee realizes again the effect Vindeliar has on people and shuts herself against it, although at the cost of closing out Wolf-Father, as well.

There is some humor early in the chapter. The exchange between Bee and Wolf-Father–Bee’s “They have no forest” being met by Wolf-Father’s “This explains much about the Chalcedeans”–brought a chuckle to my lips as I read it again. There’s a long tradition of forests in fantasy literature, of course, and while the woods often offer danger, the danger they offer is of an easily understood sort; the lack of it is a separation from “the normal,” of regard for and connection to life and the natural world, which does speak to the caricature of evil that Chalced has been presented as being. That’s not the humor, though; the joke is in the flatness of the response, the assignment of so much wrong to such a simple thing. The juxtaposition jars, and the jarring prompts laughter, easing acceptance of the idea–which is one of the things humor is apt to do.

On the topic of Chalcedean evil, the present chapter does seem to indicate that some reforms are underway, although the country cannot be called “good” even in the wake of Chassim’s accession. Slavery still remains an accepted practice, and kidnapping seems still to be prevalent. But it is at least not the case that Bee faces assault while awaiting sale, as other volumes in the Realm of the Elderlings corpus make clear is a likelihood, or that she finds herself possibly the next meal for the rulers of the area. Chalced remains evil under Chassim, but it is less evil than it had been under Andronicus, and there is something that resembles hope for its further development even in the changes already clear from the text.

If Chalced’s evil might be mitigated (although, again, not erased; it is still a bad place), that of Dwalia is assuredly not so. She continues to resort to outright domination, via Vindeliar (who cannot be said to be in full possession of his faculties despite his power, and I am put in mind of parallels to Thick; there might be something in reading the characters against one another), as well as selling off others in her company to secure her own convenience. To be certain, even the “good guys” in the Realm of the Elderlings will use their powers to relieve others of their free will; the Skilling Verity does against the Red-Ship raiders offers no few examples, and Fitz himself is not always or even necessarily kind with his powers. (What Nettle does can only be dimly guessed at, even if her king has a distaste for disreputable methods; what an interquel such things might present!) I find myself asking if Dwalia is more evil only in that she demands another do such work for her…but that I am obliged to ask such questions only deepens my engagement with the text and the corpus of which it is part, and that is something that speaks well of them to me.

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