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Commentary from Chade regarding his scrying precedes “Heroes and Thieves,” which begins with Fitz waking in darkness, coming up from the effects of the sleeping draught he had been given. Fitz assesses his experience and surroundings, finding the Fool sleeping next to him. After Fitz rises and dresses, he and the Fool confer about the previous evening, about the Fool’s own shifting personal presentation, and about their long and tumultuous friendship.

Further talk is interrupted by the arrival of Spark, who attends to the Fool-as-Amber, and then breakfast. Over the meal, Spark notes the high regard in which Fitz is held in Kelsingra, and afterwards, they are conducted to meet with Reyn, Malta, and a number of Elderling families whose children are in need of attention. Rapskal confronts them before their meeting, accusing them and approaching taking them into custody when Reyn intervenes.

Fitz, the Fool, and Spark are joined by Lant and Perseverance at the meeting, and proceedings begin. Rapskal, present, does speak against Fitz and his party, to general disapproval. Fitz bows to the pleas of the parents around them, channeling the Skill to amend and ease the changes wrought by dragons upon the children of Kelsingra–including the child of Thymara and Tats, on whom the narrative dwells for a bit. Other healings ensue, and Amber cries out to have Fitz stopped before he expends himself utterly. The surrounding Elderlings plead for more aid, and Lant doses Fitz with elfbark while Amber puts a Silvered hand to him. And at the last, Rapskal cries aloud for their arrest for theft of Silver.

As is not unusual, the prefatory materials on the chapter attract attention. That Chade is able to scry is long established in the Realm of the Elderlings novels; I recall Fitz making mention of Chade trying him on the art, if without success. I also recall that not terribly much is made of it in terms of providing details of scrying’s workings, certainly not to the same degree as other magics at work in the series, whether or not Fitz possesses them–but I will admit that I did not pay particular attention to that aspect of the works. I suppose it becomes another scholarly someday to pore over the works and see how Hobb depicts scrying, at the beginning of the present chapter and elsewhere, and to compare that depiction to others in fantasy literature (Katharine Kerr’s Deverry novels come to mind) and in “real-world” precedents. (If someone’s already done it, please let me know; I’d love to add it to the Fedwren Project, on which I need to do more.)

In the main line of the chapter, I am again put in mind of Fitz as acting something of a Christ-figure. In my remarks on the previous chapter, I noted that healing Phron was not entirely voluntary on Fitz’s part, which, on further reflection, echoes Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:30, and Luke 8:45-46 (possibly something I should have included in my 2019 comments about medievalist religion in the Realm of the Elderlings corpus). In the present chapter, Fitz is beset by a group of whom he notes “Some pushed toward me out of hunger and need. Some strove to be first, others only to see what wonder I would next work, and some pushed to try and break through the wall of people in front of them so that they might have a chance to beg a boon of their own” (749-50), even as he continues to heal them. To my mind, as I read again, the scene rings of Luke 6:17-19 (also something I might ought to have included in my 2019 comments). I’m not sure why such passages are on my mind at the moment, though, and I’m not sufficiently skilled a theologian to unpack it further at the moment. But I do think that looking at how Hobb applies the Christ-figure here is something else worth doing–and, again, I’d love to know if someone’s already done that work.

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Read the previous entry in the series here.
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After in-milieu commentary about selecting Skill-couriers and their practices, “An Elderling Welcome” begins with Fitz making a decent show of diplomacy and learning that he is, indeed, confronted by Rapskal. Rapskal introduces himself brusquely as the local military leader and begrudgingly agrees to conduct Fitz, Lant, and Perseverance to Kelsingra’s rulership. Fitz finds himself somewhat affected by the prevalence of Skill-stone in the construction of Kelsingra, and he contrasts what he sees in his present situation with what he had seen in the city previously, as well as what he knows of Dutiful’s impressions of Kelsingra.

At length, Rapskal leaves Fitz, Lant, and Perseverance to confer with his leaders, assigning a subordinate to see to them. Fitz presents himself diplomatically once again, and he and his companions are provided refreshment. After they attend to themselves, Fitz and his companions confer about next steps to take, and Fitz soon falls asleep.

Rest is interrupted by the arrival of Reyn Khuprus, who greets Fitz warmly and receives introductions as he has Fitz, Lant, and Perseverance follow him to a kinder reception than Rapskal had given them. Malta joins them there, apologizing for Rapskal’s behavior and welcoming them. She introduces Amber, attended by Spark, and Fitz finds himself taken up into the Fool’s performance as Reyn and Malta invite the rest to sit and eat with them. Fitz finds himself somewhat taken aback by the frank discussion of social structures at work in Kelsingra. Questions about Phron and their answers elicit sympathy from Fitz, and as Amber continues the conversation, Fitz is able to fill in more of his knowledge of his old friend.

After dinner, Phron joins his parents and their guests, and introductions are made. When Fitz offers to shake his hand, he is taken by the Wit and the Skill, and something like a Skill-healing is effected, although without intent. Phron is greatly eased, and Malta marvels at what has occurred. Fitz is shaken by the event, but he manages to explain at least some of the changes his magic has effected in Phron.

Amber redirects conversation, relating a version of her exploits since departing Bingtown and its environs. Malta asks for healing for the other Elderling children whose changes are proving difficult or dangerous, and Amber attempts to deflect conversation again by glossing the depredations Ellik and his followers wrought on Fitz’s home, eliciting a strong response. Talk returns to the Elderling children, and Fitz, noting caveats, agrees to assist them.

With gratitude, Reyn, Malta, and Phron retire, leaving Fitz, the Fool, Lant, Spark, and Perseverance to confer. Arrangements are made for the evening, and Fitz is convinced to accept a sleeping draught for which the Fool vouches.

There are several things that attract attention in the present chapter. That the Fool would present as Amber in a company composed of Traders is not to be wondered at, perhaps, nor is the ease with which Fitz fits himself to the presentation (including shifting his pronoun references to the Fool as Amber); he has had practice at it, after all. That Lant and even Perseverance adapt so readily is more noteworthy, although Fitz notes “There was something of Chade in Lant after all” (714), which comes off to my eyes as begrudgingly respectful of the younger man. In all, it is relatively impressive that the Fool’s presentation, and Amber’s narrative, would carry off so well as they do in the chapter. The writer being Hobb, however, good fortune for the protagonist is not to be trusted, especially with what the second volume of a trilogy is typically supposed to do: put the protagonist/s in a bad situation, from which they emerge in the final volume.

Comments about the social structures at work in Kelsingra also attract attention. Reyn comments to his guests that “Even after years of it, king and queen sit a bit oddly with us” [emphasis in original], adding that “After years of the Satrapy extorting money from the Bingtown Traders, we who were raised as Traders still wonder why anyone would think we preferred a monarchy. But it’s a convenient way for the outside world to see us” (714-15). I have opined, and at some length, about the social structure of the Traders, seeing in them echoes of the nascent United States (if with better reactions to some pernicious social problems), which Reyn’s commentary supports. There does still seem to be something of hereditary rule in force in Kelsingra, however; it must be recalled that the Khuprus Traders are outrageously wealthy (note this, this, and this, among others), and that wealth is, by the time of Reyn and Malta, largely inherited. While Reyn and Malta are both capable people, they had the luxury–Reyn more than Malta, admittedly–of developing their capabilities free from the brute-force concerns of “Do I have enough to eat not to die today?” that typify the lives of many of the other residents of Kelsingra before their emigration. That is to say, they began their lives with advantages that they have parlayed into prominence in Kelsingra; they had the opportunities to be first with dragons because their preexisting socioeconomic status afforded them as much. It is not entirely meritocracy at work–although, Traders being Traders, it is conceivable that the Khupruses would be shunted aside in favor of “better” merchants. It bears thought, another scholarly someday.

I note, too, the particularly Tolkienian resonance (yes, I know) of Fitz’s not-entirely-voluntary healing of Phron. I have written before (here) about the ways in which Fitz enacts the warrior-hero trope common to fantasy literature; he moves away from, but is still substantially grounded in, the Tolkienian iteration of the trope, or I understood him as being so at that point in his existence and in my own. (We ought to revise ideas and opinions as more information becomes available. It’s something with which many people struggle, clearly and unhelpfully.) Even with what I have come to believe since, I acknowledge that there is still enough to sustain such a reading, to look at Hobb as existing within the Tolkienian literary tradition although she is clearly drawing from other sources than Tolkien–or than just Tolkien, especially since she acknowledges her debt to him. In the present chapter, in addition to the martial and diplomatic aspects of the warrior-hero Fitz does not seldom deploy, there is something of “The hands of the king are the hands of a healer” (LotR V, ch. 8) about his interaction with Phron. While it is the case that Fitz has participated in Skill-healing previously, and to miraculous effect (something that edges towards Christ-referencing, as I think on it again), the present chapter, where the healing happens, and not entirely with Fitz’s approval, seems more…otherworldly than most of the examples in the Realm of the Elderlings corpus. It’s yet another thing that bears some thought and consideration, yet another scholarly someday I hope I live long enough to address.

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Read the previous entry in the series here.
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A brief excerpt from Bee’s dream journal precedes “Kelsingra.” The chapter opens with Fitz and the rest taking such sleep as they can. When Fitz is woken by Perseverance coming off of watch, his Wit-sense responds to the presence of a larger predator that, upon investigation, proves to be a large bear showing the initial decrepitude of age. Fitz directs his companions to minimize the danger to them and reaches out to the bear through the Wit, but the bear attacks. The Fool and Spark flee through a Skill-pillar, while the rest scramble up trees and look on in anguish as the animal destroys their provisions.

After the bear leaves, Fitz, Lant, and Perseverance take stock of what remains and reestablish their camp as best they can. That done, they prepare to follow the Fool and Spark, Fitz speaking plainly of what might befall them. Steeling themselves, they plunge through the Skill-pillar, emerging to find the Fool and Spark before them and angry dragons in evidence. As Fitz directs Lant and Perseverance to take what little shelter there is, the dragons speak to him. As Elderlings approach, Fitz presents himself formally, beginning to defuse the situation as the arrival of additional forces makes violence an unpleasant option. Arrangements are made to conduct Fitz and his group to Kelsingra’s leadership.

The present chapter is not the first part of the Realm of the Elderlings corpus to bear the name; it follows the fourth chapter of City of Dragons in that. Correspondences between the two chapters are limited, although there are some to be found. I’m not sure that there is enough to make any claims about parallel functions; I rather doubt that there is, although I’ve not done the kind of close reading of the two texts against each other that would reveal whether or not there is in any real sense. It’s another scholarly someday, I suppose, if perhaps a winter day due to the brevity I would expect from such a thing.

There are a couple of other things of interest to me as I reread the chapter. One of them is the reinforcement of the idea, going back to the Tawny Man novels, that the dragons communicate with each other and with their Elderlings through the Skill. The implication that the Skill is some lingering trace of Elderling heritage seems clear to me, although I tend to think that it is something that has grown up as the Realm of the Elderlings corpus has extended rather than something that was planned at the outset–but I’ve made comments about that kind of thing before. And it’s not something with which I find fault; people change, and so the work that they do will also change. Nor yet is it necessary for something to be perfect before it gets going.

The other that stood out was the dragons’ inability to find the Fool, the Elderling blanket serving to conceal him from their sight (although not their sense of smell). The implications of that that emerge for me are significant. That there is a limit to the dragons’ abilities is of import; they are often shown as being super-predators and, while some fight against them seems possible, odds are never good for those who oppose them. That the Elderlings of old seem to have produced materials that thwart draconic senses is also suggestive, prompting questions of factionalism and rebellion among them. There’s not enough in the text, certainly at this point, to do more than make a vague suggestion, and I don’t expect that there is some sort of parallel to The Silmarillion waiting in Hobb’s notes for some future editor or scholar to find that would elaborate on it, but what is fantasy for if not for prompting the imagination?

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