Red Brick Commentary
Nov. 19th, 2020 07:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mara_dienne459 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
antishurtugal_rebornChapter Fifty: Landfall
And we’re back with Roran. They’re still on the barges, still heading toward Teirm. Roran stops them just before they get to Teirm and Clovis is curious as to why Roran doesn’t want to reach the city yet. He does, just not all at once. So he makes them put in to shore and Clovis complains because he wanted a hot meal tonight. We’re told that the fresh food they bought in Narda has been eaten up, leaving them with only salted pork, herring, cabbage, and biscuits they made from the flour, pickled veggies, and fresh meat only when they slaughter their animals or from whatever game they manage to catch. None of the sailors are happy about this turn of events. Roran doesn’t care. He goes to help the villagers pitch tents and get them settled in. Someone invites Roran over for dinner, he declines, and then he gets accosted by Felda, who is the wife of Byrd, who is the night watchman that was killed the night the Ra’zac abducted Katrina. Roran is confident that Sloan killed him. He tells us so. She wants to talk with him. Apparently her son, Mandel, has been spending his time with the sailors gambling away important stuff his family needs. Roran asks her if she’s asked her son to stop. The answer is no.
Felda twisted the tassels. “I fear that, since his father died, he no longer respects me as he once did. He has grown wild and willful.”
He’s upset his dad died and he can’t get revenge on the bastard who killed him. So he’s acting out and grieving in his own way, which is interesting to me because this kid is just as old as Roran is, and should know better by now. Especially when he has like thirteen brothers and sisters to look out for. This behavior is kind of shocking to me, because instead of stepping up, he’s acting like a two-year-old and having a tantrum. Also, nobody disrespects their mama. Especially not a frontier mama who could murder you with a well-placed shot. Of course, all these women are helpless and useless and look to others to solve their problems. I hate the way these people are characterized. I really do.
Roran thinks to himself that they’ve all grown wild, whatever that means, then asks her what she wants him to do about it. She wants him to talk with her son. You know, be an adult and tell someone who’s likely his own age to stop being an idiot. Roran says okay, sure, I’ll do what I can, and then he asks her what Mandel’s lost. She says it’s food. But he once risked a family heirloom for a rabbit. I’m assuming he won since his mother isn’t too concerned about it. Roran says he’ll take care of it as soon as he can. She thanks him and heads off, leaving Roran alone. He contemplates what he’s been told, and mentions that apparently a sailor boy has become sweet on one of the village girls, one of Katrina’s friends. He decides they could cause trouble when they leave Clovis. Which does happen, but probably not what Roran’s expecting. Anyway, it goes under the ‘ignore this’ heading because it doesn’t mean anything.
Well, Roran heads through the camp and gathers up some people and heads to Horst’s tent, and says the five whom were agreed upon beforehand are going to leave. Horst is in charge in Roran’s stead. He reminds them not to let Clovis slip off without them or damage the barges. ...Right. Damage his own and only way home, and damage the only thing he makes his livelihood by. He subtlety says they may need to steal the barges to make their way to Surda. Someone points out they need to make sure they aren’t discovered, either. Roran agrees and says if the five haven’t returned by nightfall, assume they were captured and GTFO. Roran then goes to Clovis and explains his plan to him - leaving out the idea that the villagers are going to steal his barges if they need to, of course - and then tells Clovis he expects the man and the barges and their crews to be here when he gets back. Clovis wonders if Roran is questioning his honor, Roran replies no, he’s just stating facts. He also slaps Clovis with the “you leave and you’re condemning people to die” card.
He also tells Clovis not to try anything funny because the villagers will defend themselves and if something terrible happens to them, Roran swears revenge. Clovis is like dude, I don’t like the Empire, I wouldn’t do them a favor. Roran says “men will do anything to protect their families”. Clovis asks Roran will do when he gets to Surda. Roran starts with “we” but Clovis interrupts him saying he wants to know what Roran’s personal plans are. Because he can’t see Roran being an ordinary farmer after what he’s done. Roran says once he’s gotten the village safe, he’s going hunting. Clovis mentions Katrina, and Roran gets mad and storms out. He then heads to find Mandel, I guess to finally make good on his promise to Mandel’s mom. He finds Mandel throwing a knife at a stump.
Felda’s right; someone has to talk some sense into him. “You’re wasting your time,” said Roran.
That’s not exactly the thought I’d have when I approach someone throwing a knife at a stump. Usually I move a little more cautiously and wonder why they’re doing that, and if I’ll become the next target of that knife if I bother them. Also, you don’t just walk up to someone with a weapon and surprise them. You’re more likely to get that knife thrown at you that way.
Mandel whirled around with surprise. “Why do you say that?”
“In a real fight, you’re more likely to put out your own eye than injure your enemy. If you don’t know the exact distance between you and your target...” Roran shrugged. “You might as well throw rocks.”
Uh, how does Roran know that? He’s actually never thrown a knife before, from what I remember from his combat scenes. Also, you’re not aiming for the person’s face when you’re throwing the knife; you’re aiming for center mass. The biggest part of the body you can hit, which is the torso. Of course, throwing knives in a real fight is a stupid idea and doesn’t actually do much for you outside the movies. Throwing knives are balanced for throwing and usually aren’t sharp enough to do more than stick in what you throw it at. Of course, the damage really comes from the force behind the throw, and the edges are still capable of cutting, as they’re traveling at a high rate of speed. Fighting knives are made specifically for battle and are heavy and durable, and aren’t balanced for throwing. But I still think you could throw them and kill someone, provided that person is close enough that you can catch them by surprise and throw hard enough and fast enough to overcome the weight of the knife you’re throwing.
He watched with detached interest as the younger man bristled with pride. “Gunnar told me about a man he knew in Cithrí who could hit a flying crow with his knife eight times out of ten.”
“And the other two times you get killed. It’s usually a bad idea to throw away your weapon in battle.” Roran waved a hand, forestalling Mandel’s objections. “Get your kit together and meet me on the hill past the stream in fifteen minutes. I’ve decided you should come with us to Teirm.”
Good talk Roran. Good job putting some sense on this kid’s shoulders. All he talked to him about was fighting with knives and not throwing them, and then decides to take the kid along without asking anyone if he could. But he’s the leader, I guess, so Roran does what Roran wants. Actually, I’m pretty sure that Roran’s “talk” to Mandel any being a man comes up later, but considering Mandel’s mom asked Roran to talk to him now, I really don’t understand why Roran didn’t just lead with that conversation. I feel like these characters have really strange priorities.
Mandel is so happy to be going along (which he shouldn’t be, let’s be honest here) and before Roran leaves he looks at Felda, Mandel’s mom. She obviously isn’t happy about the turn of events, but all she does is ask Roran to keep her son safe and then bustles about helping him pack. Apparently every adult in this village has forgotten that Roran is only seventeen years old (he’s never described as having a birthday as Eragon is) and though he’s a man by the village’s standards, he is still an immature child who has no idea what he’s doing. Felda, a grown woman and a mother, simply gives up her parental rights to him and goes along with what he wants. She says nothing to him about what she wants.
Anyway, that’s enough about that. Roran’s the first to arrive at the hill, and the four other people going with him are Loring, Gertrude, Birgit and Nolfy, her son. Roran says they have to wait for Mandel and everyone’s like why? Birgit rightly points out that Mandel was seen in Narda, and it’s dangerous enough with Roran and Gertrude. Someone might recognize them as it is. Even more so with Mandel around. Also it was agreed nobody else would go. Roran responds:
“I’ll risk it.” Roran met each of their eyes in turn. “He needs to come.” In the end, they listened to him, and, with Mandel, the six of them headed south, toward Teirm.
Roran’s just a regular old dictator isn’t he? Does what he wants without needing to answer for it or give a reason why. No, Mandel doesn’t need to come. Roran needs to grow a pair and do what Felda asked him to do, which is sit Mandel down and talk to him about being responsible. Instead, he talked to him about the proper way to use a knife and that throwing it is a bad idea. Then he told the kid to join him on their expedition to town. That’s not responsibility. That’s avoiding the problem. Like I could understand if Roran was nervous about taking on the father role to a kid that’s about his own age, and not really know what to talk about or how to say it if he did know, but Roran completely ignores it until later. I know he mentions it because I remember seeing it at some point, but it isn’t now. It’s some time in the future. Also, I really don’t understand why everyone’s so concerned about being recognized. It isn’t like phones or texts or email exists, so someone would have to either take a ship or ride overland to get there to spread the word that there are murderers skulking about, so watch out! Also, it wouldn’t be like they could adequately describe these people either, as most people never paid attention to the villagers while they were there, or barely interacted with them to the point they could accurately remember what they look like.
Knives and talks
Date: 2020-11-21 12:42 am (UTC)As for knife throwing, I know a thing or two about that so if any of the aspiring authors here are curious about working that skill: During some unemployment time I spent several months living with two of my brothers. On nice afternoons the three of us, my kid nephews, and my sister's boyfriend would spend hours outside throwing knives, ninja stars, and tomahawks and we became pretty good. We also played darts and palet so throwing things became a thing for us. Throwing knives is a matter of practice. When Roran says “If you don’t know the exact distance between you and your target...” Roran shrugged. You might as well throw rocks.” that rings of a couple of tries, and getting his knife to stick because he was a correct distance, but no extensive practice. Past a certain point, you learn to throw the knife so that it sticks no matter the distance. I can't really explain it with words because, like archery, it's more of an instinctual feeling you develop with practice. You don't reall know consciously how you're doing it but your eye and brain know what you have to do for the knife to hit your target and the moment it leaves your hand you know if it will hit. Once you've mastered knife-throwing on that level, then you can start throwing other less-balanced knives. Out of dozens of tries I only managed to get a hunting knife to stick once... but it went in deep because it's far heavier than the throwing knives I usually use.
And in case anyone was curious, ninja stars are easier to make stick than knives but the tomahawk is a lot harder. By the time I left that house I was still throwing from specific distances trying to get my feel of the weapon.
PS: Anyone who can hit a flying crow eight times out of ten with a thrown knife is not someone I'd mess with and Roran should not dismiss him life that!!! If he can fit a flying crow, a charging person is a cakewalk!!!! And while most throwing knives don't have the velocity to seriously injure except at vital points (like ninja stars), if you're not accustomed to pain rest assured that it will still put you down. Obviously it won't work on an armoured opponent though.