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antishurtugal_rebornWarning: This chapter contains Elminster being a creepy invisible voyeur.
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Ed Greenwood’s Elminster in Myth Drannor! Last time, Elminster brutally slaughtered his elven pursuers (after claiming to not believe in violence) before getting seemingly disintegrated himself. Meanwhile, Lady Duilya Evendusk seduced her husband, a violent abuser, and we’re apparently supposed to think this by itself will inspire him to become a changed man! Gag. The relevance of this isn’t made clear. Today, we’ll learn Elminster’s fate! Joining us once again will be Calassara and Mira!
Chapter Thirteen: Adrift in Cormanthor
Calassara: And so, we open with a quote from the High History of Faerunian Archmages Mighty that… immediately reveals Elminster’s fate, so we don’t have to wonder anymore! Because clearly, Greenwood has never heard of dramatic tension… For a time, Elminster became as a ghost, and wandered unheard and unseen through the very heart of Cormanthor. The elves regarded him not, and he learned much thereby… not that he had much of a life left in which to make use of what he gained. Well, that’s just a lie, considering we all know he lived more than a thousand years after this – even by elven standards, that’s quite a lot of life! And the idea of Elminster the invisible voyeur, wondering through the city and spying on everybody while they can neither see him nor do anything about it chills me to a rather remarkable degree, I must say…
We open the chapter proper as Faerun took a very long while to come floating back again. …where did it go? Did someone lose it? Rather embarrassing to lose a whole continent, I must say… At first, Elminster was only dimly aware of himself as a drifting cloud of thoughts – awareness – in a dark, endless void through which booming, distorted sounds… bursts of loudness they were, no more… rumbled and echoed from time to time. Ah, if only he’d stayed that way, we’d have been much better off! Alas, Elminster finally starts to see lights and sounds that gradually resolve themselves into images. He sees swords flashing, and the kiira, and then a palace… the palace of a kindly one, an old elf in white robes, the ruler of pursuivants who rode unicorns and Pegasi… the Coronal. That title blazed like white fire in his memory, like the great and awesome chord of a fanfare of triumphal doom – the march favored by magelords in the Athalantar of his younger years, that resounded across Hastarl, echoing back from its towers, when wizards were gathering for some decision of import. Something we literally never heard about in all of the previous book, I believe – a pity, as it might have actually been atmospheric and made the magelords feel more like they were actually powerful and dangerous. Also, not really sure I would call the Coronal “kindly,” personally – so far, I’ve mostly been struck by the thought that he’s apparently really bad at his job. Speaking of the previous book, Elminster suddenly recalls his whole history – his youth, discovering his royal heritage, learning to be a mage and his battle with the magelords, his time as Elmara, and lastly Mystra, making him her Chosen, making him her – Elminster! Which doesn’t make it sound less like she considers you her possession – but, at last, Elminster knows who he is again. More’s the pity.
Mira: While I would normally be loath to condemn any spirit to an existence of tormented, nameless wandering, in Elminster’s case… such an experience might actually do him good, I think? So, I’ll make an exception. Anyway, he remembers Cormanthor, and how Mystra sent him here, and his battle with his pursuers – though he manages to omit that they thought him a murderer, instead just thinking that they chafed under the Coronal’s decrees. Oh, and we learn that the younger elven nobles are collectively called ardavanshee or restless young ones, a term we’re only now being introduced to even though the story has been heavily concerned with those young elves so far… Elminster thinks to himself about how the… ardavanshee… have failed, because he’s not dead, and how their noble heritage makes them proud enough to think they can defy the Coronal. He also remembers the Srinshee, recalling her as an old woman, and then how her face changed to one that looked like a little elven girl’s, yet retained those old and wise eyes… He recalls the Vault of Ages, and then finally acknowledges that he was framed for murder, as he recalls Elandorr… suitor and rival of the Lady Symrustar… I would say that Elandorr’s obsession pointed to him being something rather darker than a mere “suitor” – but of course, the thought of Symrustar leads Elminster to remember that perfect face, those hungrily tugging blue tresses, that dragon on her belly and breasts, the eyes like blue flames of promise, and lips parted in a waiting, knowing smile… that ruthless, ambitious sorceress whose mind was as dark a cesspit as any magelord’s, who thought of elves – and men – as mere stupid beasts to be used as she clawed her way up through them, to some as-yet-unrealized goal… You know, I would believe Symrustar was evil more easily if you’d actually shown her doing something particularly evil, instead of vaguely implying it… and if we’d had a sense she had an actual goal, instead of doing mostly unconnected things… and oh, if Elminster hadn’t done to her far worse than what she tried to do to him…
And indeed, Elminster does remember how Symrustar tried to steal his knowledge, and he in in turn betrayed her into the grasp of her rival, Elandorr, leaving both of their fates unknown to him. *weakly* Elminster rather understates his actions, doesn’t he? As I recall, he teleported Elandorr right on top of a naked Symrustar, while simultaneously exposing all of her thoughts to him… and considering Elandorr is a man who simultaneously both hates and desires her, from what we’ve seen… there are many ways that could end and they’re all terrible. But Elminster spares no more thought to that, of course, as he finally remembers his battle with Ivran’s hunters and how after he killed them, their mage companions tore his body apart. And thus… we just took several pages to recap all of the events of the last two books. Am I the only one who thinks that a rather… odd choice? Especially in the middle of a book? Elminster is left wondering if he’s a ghost now, or if Mystra has somehow kept him alive to carry out her plans. He gradually becomes aware he can move and can sense all of Faerun spread out below him, from the deep forest of Cormanthor to the outlaw wastes beyond Athalantar. He wonders if he’s dead after all – I don’t think so? Then again, I’m trained to commune with ghosts, but I’ve never been one… Finally, he prays to Mystra and for a moment all is silent, and then there came a brilliant, almost blinding burst of light, white and clarioned, with a sennet that echoed stridently through him, hurling him over and over in its brassy tumult. When it clears he finds himself hurtling through emptiness towards a distant point of light, which eventually resolves itself into Cormanthor. He crosses it quickly and says a prayer of thanks to Mystra – who did not even bother to include a message with her divine intervention, how very rude – as he sinks into the city.
Calassara: And if there was any urgency left in his predicament, Greenwood kills it. He moved from here to there in accordance with wherever he looked that interested him enough to approach. And so, Elminster, instead of trying to find his way out of this situation, is apparently… sightseeing. Why am I not surprised? As he does so, he passes among the elves, who can neither see him nor, he discovers, touch him. He was truly a ghost, it seemed; an invisible, silent, undetected drifting thing. And he seems remarkably calm about that. Has his condition perhaps affected his mind, too? As he drifted this way and that, peering at the busy lives of Cormanthans, he began to hear things as well. As if we needed further proof he’s just spying on people… well, it turns out the noise he’s hearing is the combined sounds of everyone in the city, which he’s no longer capable, in his present state, of distinguishing between. Finally, he stops and manages to relax, and the sounds recede into something more manageable. That was easy. He decides he wants to know what’s going on in Cormanthor, and decides that he is invisible, silent, and scentless, even to alert elves. Ideal for prying into their doings. *coldly* Elminster, I know your proclivities, and if you try to pry into my “doings” I swear to Calistria I won’t rest until I’ve found an exorcist and buried you in the deepest pit in the Nine Hells to think about what you’ve done! He decides to make sure he’s invisible to magic, too, and continues floating around the city, still invisible, as he learns to shape his intangible form into discrete limbs. He can see that the elves are still speaking casually to each other in ways they’d never do if there was a human nearby – particularly this human, I’m sure – and after passing through a particularly frosty-looking elven lady of high station, for I’m sure no ulterior motives whatsoever, he decides to make use of this state while he has it to spy. Oh, so before he was just spying casually – now he’s doing it on purpose. Lovely.
He recognizes the part of the city where he is from his earlier search for House Alastrarra and drifts into a nearby mansion – he finds he can pass through wood, but not metal or stone. Still, he finds his way in through a window and discovers that furs lay everywhere underfoot, and polished wood sculped into lounges and chairs rose in flowing shapes on all sides. He passes through the room, thinking about how wealthy elven families seem to love decorations of blown glass – pretty, I’ll admit, but hardly my favorite thing in the world – and at last enters a bedroom where a nude elven couple were floating in each other’s arms, upright above their bed – and no, they’re not having sex, they’re discussing the affairs of the realm.
MG: Have we stumbled into the early seasons of Game of Thrones by mistake? Remember how the show sometimes got mocked for overreliance on “sexposition…”
Calassara: …I don’t know what Game of Thrones is and I’m not sure I want to, and I tend to be of the opinion that scholarship and sex shouldn’t be mixed – all manner of confusion lies that way! Anyway, this, it happens, is our old friends Duilya and Lord Evendusk, and, oh Savored Sting, is that why Duilya had to seduce her abusive husband last chapter, so Elminster can show up now and watch? *she shudders* Elminster is fascinated by the arguments of their aroused tongues – gods, that doesn’t sound like he’s interested in their arguments – but we learn nothing of what they’re actually discussing before the conversation turns to Lord Evendusk’s drinking habits and Elminster drifts over to Duilya’s pod-shaped, walk-in portable closet, the contents of which Greenwood sees fit to describe in far, far too much detail. The reason for all of this is that Duilya has a number of warding spells over her “gem bower” to protect her jewelry from potential thieves, spells of the sort that, according to the Srinshee, are powerful enough to hurl a person across the room. He reaches out to touch the gems, and though he can’t feel or hold them, the spells also don’t react to his presence at all. So, it seems ghostly Elminster is indeed immune to warding spells then, more’s the pity. He then swirls around Lord and Lady Evendusk for a moment, as they murdered gentle words to each other with slow but building hunger. No one invited you, Elminster! And yes, it seems we’re apparently supposed to think Duilya and her husband are happily in love now, even though she was fearing violence from him as recently as last chapter. Have I mentioned I hate this book? As an elf, as a bard, as a woman… as a sapient being, it offends me! Elminster then tests the magical barrier one more time, bursting through it unharmed – of course – and then with one last glance back at the languorous midair dance of the amorous elven couple he soars out of the mansion.
Mira: Finally. *she shivers* I need to make a note to remind the guild masters to double check the wardings around Hollowfaust… we don’t want pests to get in. His next plan is to find the Coronal and make sure no one has assassinated him while Elminster has been gone (gods grant he doesn’t find the Coronal in the bedroom too!) and then seek out the Srinshee to get his body back. He passes through the city, and we’re treated to several paragraphs of descriptions that are unutterably garish, including houses that revolved, and sparkled back the sun from swirling glass ornaments hanging like frozen raindrops from their balconies and casements. Have… have these people never heard of subtlety? Personally, I’m fond of it… Elminster, though, is amazed, having forgotten just how beautiful elven work could be. That is a matter of opinion. He also thinks that if the elder houses have their way, no other human will ever see this, and Elminster himself won’t live long enough to tell anyone about it. I, personally, remain unconvinced as to why any outsiders want to come here at all – the city is garish and loud, and the people are hostile at best and outright murderous at worst. At last, he comes to a large group of homes, with a very large garden behind them – but it doesn’t look like the Coronal’s garden (Elminster, are you lost? I thought you knew where you were…). He thinks that the largest house is the most beautiful mansion El had ever seen, but it’s not the Coronal’s palace. He passes through an upper window, one that has no glass but is warded by magic and passes easily inside to where two well-dressed elves are drinking and discussing matters. One of them tells the other, Lord Maendellyn, that it’s not usual for his house to make an alliance with a lesser family, while Lord Maendellyn asks Llombaerth if he can count on the support of the Starym – ah, that name again!
Well, Llombaerth Starym tells Maendellyn that he thinks those who would reshape Cormanthor should be seen to stand on their own, while a third voice comments that will be convenient for the Starym to sit on the sidelines and watch and pick up the pieces once the dust settles. At the same time, it leaves those of the House in question standing on uneasy ground when presuming to lecture others on ethics, tactics, or the good of the realm. I must say, I’ve not seen any of those qualities in much supply among the elves of Cormanthor thus far… maybe if we keep looking? Llombaearth tells Yeschant that he doesn’t care for his tone, but Yeschant reminds him – calling him Lord Speaker of the Starym – that the Starym have more to lose than anyone, since they’re the most powerful House in Cormanthor right now and if the city’s political structure collapses, they have farthest to fall. Lord Maendellyn tries to get everyone back on track – they’re here to talk about overthrowing the Coronal, or at least ending his plans of opening Cormanthor. It is interesting, isn’t it, that Elminster just happened to stumble onto his enemies plotting together? I’m not sure whether to blame convenience, or to blame Mystra… or which is more annoying. Another speaker, Lord Tassarion, doesn’t care about politics – Elminster killed his son, and he wants revenge. Another voice adds that Elminster killed his son, too – well, he certainly killed a lot of people last time, who I presume must have had parents – but he doesn’t think killing the Coronal will help them get revenge, and if they want to remove him, they should go through the proper channels. Llombaerth says that the Starym understand the desire for vengeance, and also that the Coronal must be brought down. The misruler must pay for his shocking ideas and his failure to guide Cormanthor capably, regardless of how many or how few brave sons of the realm have died for his mistakes.
MG: Just wanting to add that Lombaerth is a “Lord Speaker” of the Starym… but I have no idea what a “lord speaker” is supposed to actually be, and I don’t believe it’s ever made clear, or that we ever meet anyone else with this title. I’m also not sure how he relates to Uldreiyn Starym, who we met a couple of chapters ago, though based on later events I think Uldreiyn outranks him, if only because he’s older and this is a culture where that’s a big deal.
Calassara: *sigh* So, about what I’d expect from Greenwood, then? The next speaker has a lisping voice because of course he does and proposes they should all work together to assassinate the Coronal. He also wants revenge, though he doesn’t say why, and thinks all of those who do can agree among ourselves who shall have a hand in the actual killing, so that honor may be satisfied. The Starym can stay in the background and keep their hands clean. Maendellyn agrees with Lord Bellas and asks if everyone else agrees too, and they do – as we probably could have guessed, or they wouldn’t’ even be at this little meeting. They then start wondering who should be Coronal after Eltargrim, and Elminster watches as they all fall into an uncomfortable silence until Yeschant says it’s clear they don’t agree on that now, but encourages them all to choose a new candidate to unify behind before they kill Eltargrim, or else they could risk doing more harm to Cormanthor. Well, at least someone’s thinking things through – but yeah, Mira’s right, sure is convenient for Elminster that he just happened to stumble onto these people, isn’t it? Maendellyn then says that deciding how to kill Eltargrim should be easier, and Tassarion says they need to get him someone they can do it personally, to which Llombaerth agrees – he thinks they should avoid attacking the Coronal at some public function where he’ll be surrounded by guards. *rolling her eyes* Well, I’m glad you’ve worked that out already. They start debating how to trick him into meeting with them in private; one suggests they could disguise themselves as some of the court mages, but the others don’t like it, since if one of the mages catches them, they’ll have to fight them all. Yes, in my experience wizards do tend to have plans for situations like that. Llombaerth worries that the Coronal might be able to call on aid wherever he is, but Tassarion thinks they should arrange it so the court mages are occupied and can’t arrive to help him – and they also don’t want to leave the mages alive to seek vengeance after he’s dead.
Lord Bellas lisped – seriously, Greenwood? – that he doesn’t think they’re ready to kill the Coronal yet. He’s torn between whether they should openly assassinate him, try to undermine his rule to get him removed from office, or find a way to kill him and make it look like an accident. Llombaerth thinks they need more time to work everything out, and he doesn’t want to keep the others here too long, in case someone gets suspicious. Maendellyn thinks they should adjourn for the evening and meet again in three months’ time with more detailed plans to propose and being ready to decide on them. The others agree and get up to leave. Well, at least they have plans, and also survived the chapter that introduced them, which is more than most Greenwood villains can say. Elminster debates whether to follow them or not, but he decides he still has to check to see if Cormanthor still had a Coronal to murder. Ah, Elminster, you are aware that these are apparently a gathering of very powerful and well-connected nobles, right? Unless Eltargrim literally dropped dead five minutes ago, I suspect they’d know, and wouldn’t be planning to murder him! Also, there’s six conspirators, and one of you, and they’re all going to separate homes – you can only follow one of them. Unless as a ghost-thing you’ve learned to split yourself down into a bunch of mini-Elminsters *she shudders at the thought*. Elminster flies out of the mansion and over the gardens effortlessly passing through the wards, and this time he finally manages to find the palace. He worries that the watchnorns might notice him, but by fate – or Mystra – they don’t, and he passes through without trouble only to find that the upper floors of the palace seem mostly deserted. He doesn’t find the Coronal, but in a room in one of the towers, he stumbles onto another group of elf-lords meeting; six of them are strangers, but they had a seventh grey-faced elf present: the High Court Mage Earynspieir.
MG: Also, before we move on, most of those conspirators we just saw meeting? With a couple of exceptions, they’re not really going to be relevant again. Also, regardless of how fortuitous it is for Elminster that he stumbled onto a bunch of bad guys having a meeting, he didn’t even really find them discussing their plans so much as he found them discussing the fact that they don’t actually have a plan yet. Interesting choice, Greenwood.
Mira: Why!? Greenwood, why must you do this to us? Well, Earynspieir is up and pacing, so Elminster drifts in and took his seat at the table, undetected. And if Earynspieir decides to sit down… well, that will be awkward. One of the elves complains about how many plots have been hatched lately, and how every public event now has to be treated as a potential battle. Earynspieir tells Lord Dorth and Lord Bowharp – but you don’t play harps with bows, that doesn’t even make sense – that he’s aware of this and is making preparations, but it’s not possible to keep the Coronal sequestered forever. Another lord, Paeral, demands to know what sort of protections - and Paeral, by the way, is a gold elf and quite the most handsome male Elminster had ever seen, of any species, sounds like someone’s smitten – and tells Earynspieir he has to trust them or Cormanthor is doomed (maybe that would be more meaningful if I knew why you were important – I swear, this city makes guild politics look simple, and I hate guild politics!). Earynspieir addresses Paeral as my lord Unicorn – is that a title or a nickname? I’m very confused – and reminds him that the Coronal is in hiding for the moment and every piece of information they give out is a potential danger. The other lords ask who is guarding him and if it’s The Six Kissing Sisters, who I suppose are the same female mages we’ve seen with the Coronal before? That doesn’t seem like a very nice way to describe them. Lord Siirist doesn’t think they’re up to the task, but Earynspieir assures him they are, and are trustworthy. The Coronal also has the Srinshee watching over him, and if we cannot trust her, lords, who in all Cormanthor can we trust? Ah, preferably someone with a better taste in friends than Elminster?
Elminster himself listens for a bit longer and decides he’s not going to learn anything useful here; he decides to go look for the Coronal and the Srinshee some more, but has no idea where to even start. He flies out into the forest to think, wondering about things he doesn’t know. He really didn’t know how most elves earned coins to spend for things, for instance… Yes, I wonder that too, since most of the elves we’ve seen so far are nobles who don’t seem to work for a living. We’ve also seen some servants, and… I think one farmer? I’m no expert, but that doesn’t seem enough for a functioning economy… He suddenly spots something moving among the trees, and flies over to see it better. He spots a figure crawling along on its hands and knees – or rather, hand and knee, since one hand seems to be paralyzed. The person is muttering to themself, and bleeding, and Elminster thinks that soon something that devoured such helpless things would get wind of it, or happen upon it. *flatly* Elminster, from your description, that sounds like a person, in some distress, not an “it.” And probably deserving of your sympathy. Elminster floats down to inspect more closely and finds himself face-to-face with a trailing forest of filthy, matted blue tresses into the tortured, swimming blue eyes of the toast of the ardavanshee: the Lady Symrustar Auglamyr. *looking paler than usual* Oh, Nemorga deliver us, whatever happened to Symrustar, it sounds like it might be worse than I’d imagined! And on that rather horrific note, the chapter comes to an end.
MG: Indeed, it does. This chapter is another one that’s kind of a mess. We do find out what happened to Elminster, and instead of dying, he’s been turned into some sort of ghost creature, apparently courtesy of Mystra. And while this ought to be not only an inconvenience – since he can’t change back without help and all – but a pretty horrifying situation, it’s rather hard to care when Elminster’s own reaction is to basically shrug it off as no big deal and fly off to spy on people (and be a creepy voyeur – and yes, Duilya’s seduction of Lord Evendusk apparently did turn him around, and considering what a ham-fisted depiction of an abuser he was before that, yes the implications are icky). Things also get repetitive, as Elminster spends several chapters recapping his own history (which we’ve already read) and then spies on not one but two secret meetings, both of which mostly consists of characters who won’t be important again (although we do get a quick appearance from the book’s second main antagonist, introduced now… more than two thirds of the way through). And then we also get a glimpse of the horrifying condition Elminster’s oh-so-clever “revenge” on Symrustar left her in (though he will, at least, have the decency to be ashamed about this, which is the bare minimum he could do, but coming from Elminster…). And, for all the narrative insists how totally evil Symrustar was… about all we actually saw her do on-page was try to seduce Elminster and steal his secrets. Which isn’t exactly good, but it’s also not worse than what a lot of ambitious young mages might do in her place (and certainly not worse than what Elminster did to her in return). Which is why said description falls very flat. Anyway, next time we won’t be catching up with Elminster and Symrustar, because it’s time for the Coronal to hold court. We’ll see you then!
I’m also about to finish up my reread and commentary on the (in)famous epic Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic Embers which can be found here if you’re interested!
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Ed Greenwood’s Elminster in Myth Drannor! Last time, Elminster brutally slaughtered his elven pursuers (after claiming to not believe in violence) before getting seemingly disintegrated himself. Meanwhile, Lady Duilya Evendusk seduced her husband, a violent abuser, and we’re apparently supposed to think this by itself will inspire him to become a changed man! Gag. The relevance of this isn’t made clear. Today, we’ll learn Elminster’s fate! Joining us once again will be Calassara and Mira!
Chapter Thirteen: Adrift in Cormanthor
Calassara: And so, we open with a quote from the High History of Faerunian Archmages Mighty that… immediately reveals Elminster’s fate, so we don’t have to wonder anymore! Because clearly, Greenwood has never heard of dramatic tension… For a time, Elminster became as a ghost, and wandered unheard and unseen through the very heart of Cormanthor. The elves regarded him not, and he learned much thereby… not that he had much of a life left in which to make use of what he gained. Well, that’s just a lie, considering we all know he lived more than a thousand years after this – even by elven standards, that’s quite a lot of life! And the idea of Elminster the invisible voyeur, wondering through the city and spying on everybody while they can neither see him nor do anything about it chills me to a rather remarkable degree, I must say…
We open the chapter proper as Faerun took a very long while to come floating back again. …where did it go? Did someone lose it? Rather embarrassing to lose a whole continent, I must say… At first, Elminster was only dimly aware of himself as a drifting cloud of thoughts – awareness – in a dark, endless void through which booming, distorted sounds… bursts of loudness they were, no more… rumbled and echoed from time to time. Ah, if only he’d stayed that way, we’d have been much better off! Alas, Elminster finally starts to see lights and sounds that gradually resolve themselves into images. He sees swords flashing, and the kiira, and then a palace… the palace of a kindly one, an old elf in white robes, the ruler of pursuivants who rode unicorns and Pegasi… the Coronal. That title blazed like white fire in his memory, like the great and awesome chord of a fanfare of triumphal doom – the march favored by magelords in the Athalantar of his younger years, that resounded across Hastarl, echoing back from its towers, when wizards were gathering for some decision of import. Something we literally never heard about in all of the previous book, I believe – a pity, as it might have actually been atmospheric and made the magelords feel more like they were actually powerful and dangerous. Also, not really sure I would call the Coronal “kindly,” personally – so far, I’ve mostly been struck by the thought that he’s apparently really bad at his job. Speaking of the previous book, Elminster suddenly recalls his whole history – his youth, discovering his royal heritage, learning to be a mage and his battle with the magelords, his time as Elmara, and lastly Mystra, making him her Chosen, making him her – Elminster! Which doesn’t make it sound less like she considers you her possession – but, at last, Elminster knows who he is again. More’s the pity.
Mira: While I would normally be loath to condemn any spirit to an existence of tormented, nameless wandering, in Elminster’s case… such an experience might actually do him good, I think? So, I’ll make an exception. Anyway, he remembers Cormanthor, and how Mystra sent him here, and his battle with his pursuers – though he manages to omit that they thought him a murderer, instead just thinking that they chafed under the Coronal’s decrees. Oh, and we learn that the younger elven nobles are collectively called ardavanshee or restless young ones, a term we’re only now being introduced to even though the story has been heavily concerned with those young elves so far… Elminster thinks to himself about how the… ardavanshee… have failed, because he’s not dead, and how their noble heritage makes them proud enough to think they can defy the Coronal. He also remembers the Srinshee, recalling her as an old woman, and then how her face changed to one that looked like a little elven girl’s, yet retained those old and wise eyes… He recalls the Vault of Ages, and then finally acknowledges that he was framed for murder, as he recalls Elandorr… suitor and rival of the Lady Symrustar… I would say that Elandorr’s obsession pointed to him being something rather darker than a mere “suitor” – but of course, the thought of Symrustar leads Elminster to remember that perfect face, those hungrily tugging blue tresses, that dragon on her belly and breasts, the eyes like blue flames of promise, and lips parted in a waiting, knowing smile… that ruthless, ambitious sorceress whose mind was as dark a cesspit as any magelord’s, who thought of elves – and men – as mere stupid beasts to be used as she clawed her way up through them, to some as-yet-unrealized goal… You know, I would believe Symrustar was evil more easily if you’d actually shown her doing something particularly evil, instead of vaguely implying it… and if we’d had a sense she had an actual goal, instead of doing mostly unconnected things… and oh, if Elminster hadn’t done to her far worse than what she tried to do to him…
And indeed, Elminster does remember how Symrustar tried to steal his knowledge, and he in in turn betrayed her into the grasp of her rival, Elandorr, leaving both of their fates unknown to him. *weakly* Elminster rather understates his actions, doesn’t he? As I recall, he teleported Elandorr right on top of a naked Symrustar, while simultaneously exposing all of her thoughts to him… and considering Elandorr is a man who simultaneously both hates and desires her, from what we’ve seen… there are many ways that could end and they’re all terrible. But Elminster spares no more thought to that, of course, as he finally remembers his battle with Ivran’s hunters and how after he killed them, their mage companions tore his body apart. And thus… we just took several pages to recap all of the events of the last two books. Am I the only one who thinks that a rather… odd choice? Especially in the middle of a book? Elminster is left wondering if he’s a ghost now, or if Mystra has somehow kept him alive to carry out her plans. He gradually becomes aware he can move and can sense all of Faerun spread out below him, from the deep forest of Cormanthor to the outlaw wastes beyond Athalantar. He wonders if he’s dead after all – I don’t think so? Then again, I’m trained to commune with ghosts, but I’ve never been one… Finally, he prays to Mystra and for a moment all is silent, and then there came a brilliant, almost blinding burst of light, white and clarioned, with a sennet that echoed stridently through him, hurling him over and over in its brassy tumult. When it clears he finds himself hurtling through emptiness towards a distant point of light, which eventually resolves itself into Cormanthor. He crosses it quickly and says a prayer of thanks to Mystra – who did not even bother to include a message with her divine intervention, how very rude – as he sinks into the city.
Calassara: And if there was any urgency left in his predicament, Greenwood kills it. He moved from here to there in accordance with wherever he looked that interested him enough to approach. And so, Elminster, instead of trying to find his way out of this situation, is apparently… sightseeing. Why am I not surprised? As he does so, he passes among the elves, who can neither see him nor, he discovers, touch him. He was truly a ghost, it seemed; an invisible, silent, undetected drifting thing. And he seems remarkably calm about that. Has his condition perhaps affected his mind, too? As he drifted this way and that, peering at the busy lives of Cormanthans, he began to hear things as well. As if we needed further proof he’s just spying on people… well, it turns out the noise he’s hearing is the combined sounds of everyone in the city, which he’s no longer capable, in his present state, of distinguishing between. Finally, he stops and manages to relax, and the sounds recede into something more manageable. That was easy. He decides he wants to know what’s going on in Cormanthor, and decides that he is invisible, silent, and scentless, even to alert elves. Ideal for prying into their doings. *coldly* Elminster, I know your proclivities, and if you try to pry into my “doings” I swear to Calistria I won’t rest until I’ve found an exorcist and buried you in the deepest pit in the Nine Hells to think about what you’ve done! He decides to make sure he’s invisible to magic, too, and continues floating around the city, still invisible, as he learns to shape his intangible form into discrete limbs. He can see that the elves are still speaking casually to each other in ways they’d never do if there was a human nearby – particularly this human, I’m sure – and after passing through a particularly frosty-looking elven lady of high station, for I’m sure no ulterior motives whatsoever, he decides to make use of this state while he has it to spy. Oh, so before he was just spying casually – now he’s doing it on purpose. Lovely.
He recognizes the part of the city where he is from his earlier search for House Alastrarra and drifts into a nearby mansion – he finds he can pass through wood, but not metal or stone. Still, he finds his way in through a window and discovers that furs lay everywhere underfoot, and polished wood sculped into lounges and chairs rose in flowing shapes on all sides. He passes through the room, thinking about how wealthy elven families seem to love decorations of blown glass – pretty, I’ll admit, but hardly my favorite thing in the world – and at last enters a bedroom where a nude elven couple were floating in each other’s arms, upright above their bed – and no, they’re not having sex, they’re discussing the affairs of the realm.
MG: Have we stumbled into the early seasons of Game of Thrones by mistake? Remember how the show sometimes got mocked for overreliance on “sexposition…”
Calassara: …I don’t know what Game of Thrones is and I’m not sure I want to, and I tend to be of the opinion that scholarship and sex shouldn’t be mixed – all manner of confusion lies that way! Anyway, this, it happens, is our old friends Duilya and Lord Evendusk, and, oh Savored Sting, is that why Duilya had to seduce her abusive husband last chapter, so Elminster can show up now and watch? *she shudders* Elminster is fascinated by the arguments of their aroused tongues – gods, that doesn’t sound like he’s interested in their arguments – but we learn nothing of what they’re actually discussing before the conversation turns to Lord Evendusk’s drinking habits and Elminster drifts over to Duilya’s pod-shaped, walk-in portable closet, the contents of which Greenwood sees fit to describe in far, far too much detail. The reason for all of this is that Duilya has a number of warding spells over her “gem bower” to protect her jewelry from potential thieves, spells of the sort that, according to the Srinshee, are powerful enough to hurl a person across the room. He reaches out to touch the gems, and though he can’t feel or hold them, the spells also don’t react to his presence at all. So, it seems ghostly Elminster is indeed immune to warding spells then, more’s the pity. He then swirls around Lord and Lady Evendusk for a moment, as they murdered gentle words to each other with slow but building hunger. No one invited you, Elminster! And yes, it seems we’re apparently supposed to think Duilya and her husband are happily in love now, even though she was fearing violence from him as recently as last chapter. Have I mentioned I hate this book? As an elf, as a bard, as a woman… as a sapient being, it offends me! Elminster then tests the magical barrier one more time, bursting through it unharmed – of course – and then with one last glance back at the languorous midair dance of the amorous elven couple he soars out of the mansion.
Mira: Finally. *she shivers* I need to make a note to remind the guild masters to double check the wardings around Hollowfaust… we don’t want pests to get in. His next plan is to find the Coronal and make sure no one has assassinated him while Elminster has been gone (gods grant he doesn’t find the Coronal in the bedroom too!) and then seek out the Srinshee to get his body back. He passes through the city, and we’re treated to several paragraphs of descriptions that are unutterably garish, including houses that revolved, and sparkled back the sun from swirling glass ornaments hanging like frozen raindrops from their balconies and casements. Have… have these people never heard of subtlety? Personally, I’m fond of it… Elminster, though, is amazed, having forgotten just how beautiful elven work could be. That is a matter of opinion. He also thinks that if the elder houses have their way, no other human will ever see this, and Elminster himself won’t live long enough to tell anyone about it. I, personally, remain unconvinced as to why any outsiders want to come here at all – the city is garish and loud, and the people are hostile at best and outright murderous at worst. At last, he comes to a large group of homes, with a very large garden behind them – but it doesn’t look like the Coronal’s garden (Elminster, are you lost? I thought you knew where you were…). He thinks that the largest house is the most beautiful mansion El had ever seen, but it’s not the Coronal’s palace. He passes through an upper window, one that has no glass but is warded by magic and passes easily inside to where two well-dressed elves are drinking and discussing matters. One of them tells the other, Lord Maendellyn, that it’s not usual for his house to make an alliance with a lesser family, while Lord Maendellyn asks Llombaerth if he can count on the support of the Starym – ah, that name again!
Well, Llombaerth Starym tells Maendellyn that he thinks those who would reshape Cormanthor should be seen to stand on their own, while a third voice comments that will be convenient for the Starym to sit on the sidelines and watch and pick up the pieces once the dust settles. At the same time, it leaves those of the House in question standing on uneasy ground when presuming to lecture others on ethics, tactics, or the good of the realm. I must say, I’ve not seen any of those qualities in much supply among the elves of Cormanthor thus far… maybe if we keep looking? Llombaearth tells Yeschant that he doesn’t care for his tone, but Yeschant reminds him – calling him Lord Speaker of the Starym – that the Starym have more to lose than anyone, since they’re the most powerful House in Cormanthor right now and if the city’s political structure collapses, they have farthest to fall. Lord Maendellyn tries to get everyone back on track – they’re here to talk about overthrowing the Coronal, or at least ending his plans of opening Cormanthor. It is interesting, isn’t it, that Elminster just happened to stumble onto his enemies plotting together? I’m not sure whether to blame convenience, or to blame Mystra… or which is more annoying. Another speaker, Lord Tassarion, doesn’t care about politics – Elminster killed his son, and he wants revenge. Another voice adds that Elminster killed his son, too – well, he certainly killed a lot of people last time, who I presume must have had parents – but he doesn’t think killing the Coronal will help them get revenge, and if they want to remove him, they should go through the proper channels. Llombaerth says that the Starym understand the desire for vengeance, and also that the Coronal must be brought down. The misruler must pay for his shocking ideas and his failure to guide Cormanthor capably, regardless of how many or how few brave sons of the realm have died for his mistakes.
MG: Just wanting to add that Lombaerth is a “Lord Speaker” of the Starym… but I have no idea what a “lord speaker” is supposed to actually be, and I don’t believe it’s ever made clear, or that we ever meet anyone else with this title. I’m also not sure how he relates to Uldreiyn Starym, who we met a couple of chapters ago, though based on later events I think Uldreiyn outranks him, if only because he’s older and this is a culture where that’s a big deal.
Calassara: *sigh* So, about what I’d expect from Greenwood, then? The next speaker has a lisping voice because of course he does and proposes they should all work together to assassinate the Coronal. He also wants revenge, though he doesn’t say why, and thinks all of those who do can agree among ourselves who shall have a hand in the actual killing, so that honor may be satisfied. The Starym can stay in the background and keep their hands clean. Maendellyn agrees with Lord Bellas and asks if everyone else agrees too, and they do – as we probably could have guessed, or they wouldn’t’ even be at this little meeting. They then start wondering who should be Coronal after Eltargrim, and Elminster watches as they all fall into an uncomfortable silence until Yeschant says it’s clear they don’t agree on that now, but encourages them all to choose a new candidate to unify behind before they kill Eltargrim, or else they could risk doing more harm to Cormanthor. Well, at least someone’s thinking things through – but yeah, Mira’s right, sure is convenient for Elminster that he just happened to stumble onto these people, isn’t it? Maendellyn then says that deciding how to kill Eltargrim should be easier, and Tassarion says they need to get him someone they can do it personally, to which Llombaerth agrees – he thinks they should avoid attacking the Coronal at some public function where he’ll be surrounded by guards. *rolling her eyes* Well, I’m glad you’ve worked that out already. They start debating how to trick him into meeting with them in private; one suggests they could disguise themselves as some of the court mages, but the others don’t like it, since if one of the mages catches them, they’ll have to fight them all. Yes, in my experience wizards do tend to have plans for situations like that. Llombaerth worries that the Coronal might be able to call on aid wherever he is, but Tassarion thinks they should arrange it so the court mages are occupied and can’t arrive to help him – and they also don’t want to leave the mages alive to seek vengeance after he’s dead.
Lord Bellas lisped – seriously, Greenwood? – that he doesn’t think they’re ready to kill the Coronal yet. He’s torn between whether they should openly assassinate him, try to undermine his rule to get him removed from office, or find a way to kill him and make it look like an accident. Llombaerth thinks they need more time to work everything out, and he doesn’t want to keep the others here too long, in case someone gets suspicious. Maendellyn thinks they should adjourn for the evening and meet again in three months’ time with more detailed plans to propose and being ready to decide on them. The others agree and get up to leave. Well, at least they have plans, and also survived the chapter that introduced them, which is more than most Greenwood villains can say. Elminster debates whether to follow them or not, but he decides he still has to check to see if Cormanthor still had a Coronal to murder. Ah, Elminster, you are aware that these are apparently a gathering of very powerful and well-connected nobles, right? Unless Eltargrim literally dropped dead five minutes ago, I suspect they’d know, and wouldn’t be planning to murder him! Also, there’s six conspirators, and one of you, and they’re all going to separate homes – you can only follow one of them. Unless as a ghost-thing you’ve learned to split yourself down into a bunch of mini-Elminsters *she shudders at the thought*. Elminster flies out of the mansion and over the gardens effortlessly passing through the wards, and this time he finally manages to find the palace. He worries that the watchnorns might notice him, but by fate – or Mystra – they don’t, and he passes through without trouble only to find that the upper floors of the palace seem mostly deserted. He doesn’t find the Coronal, but in a room in one of the towers, he stumbles onto another group of elf-lords meeting; six of them are strangers, but they had a seventh grey-faced elf present: the High Court Mage Earynspieir.
MG: Also, before we move on, most of those conspirators we just saw meeting? With a couple of exceptions, they’re not really going to be relevant again. Also, regardless of how fortuitous it is for Elminster that he stumbled onto a bunch of bad guys having a meeting, he didn’t even really find them discussing their plans so much as he found them discussing the fact that they don’t actually have a plan yet. Interesting choice, Greenwood.
Mira: Why!? Greenwood, why must you do this to us? Well, Earynspieir is up and pacing, so Elminster drifts in and took his seat at the table, undetected. And if Earynspieir decides to sit down… well, that will be awkward. One of the elves complains about how many plots have been hatched lately, and how every public event now has to be treated as a potential battle. Earynspieir tells Lord Dorth and Lord Bowharp – but you don’t play harps with bows, that doesn’t even make sense – that he’s aware of this and is making preparations, but it’s not possible to keep the Coronal sequestered forever. Another lord, Paeral, demands to know what sort of protections - and Paeral, by the way, is a gold elf and quite the most handsome male Elminster had ever seen, of any species, sounds like someone’s smitten – and tells Earynspieir he has to trust them or Cormanthor is doomed (maybe that would be more meaningful if I knew why you were important – I swear, this city makes guild politics look simple, and I hate guild politics!). Earynspieir addresses Paeral as my lord Unicorn – is that a title or a nickname? I’m very confused – and reminds him that the Coronal is in hiding for the moment and every piece of information they give out is a potential danger. The other lords ask who is guarding him and if it’s The Six Kissing Sisters, who I suppose are the same female mages we’ve seen with the Coronal before? That doesn’t seem like a very nice way to describe them. Lord Siirist doesn’t think they’re up to the task, but Earynspieir assures him they are, and are trustworthy. The Coronal also has the Srinshee watching over him, and if we cannot trust her, lords, who in all Cormanthor can we trust? Ah, preferably someone with a better taste in friends than Elminster?
Elminster himself listens for a bit longer and decides he’s not going to learn anything useful here; he decides to go look for the Coronal and the Srinshee some more, but has no idea where to even start. He flies out into the forest to think, wondering about things he doesn’t know. He really didn’t know how most elves earned coins to spend for things, for instance… Yes, I wonder that too, since most of the elves we’ve seen so far are nobles who don’t seem to work for a living. We’ve also seen some servants, and… I think one farmer? I’m no expert, but that doesn’t seem enough for a functioning economy… He suddenly spots something moving among the trees, and flies over to see it better. He spots a figure crawling along on its hands and knees – or rather, hand and knee, since one hand seems to be paralyzed. The person is muttering to themself, and bleeding, and Elminster thinks that soon something that devoured such helpless things would get wind of it, or happen upon it. *flatly* Elminster, from your description, that sounds like a person, in some distress, not an “it.” And probably deserving of your sympathy. Elminster floats down to inspect more closely and finds himself face-to-face with a trailing forest of filthy, matted blue tresses into the tortured, swimming blue eyes of the toast of the ardavanshee: the Lady Symrustar Auglamyr. *looking paler than usual* Oh, Nemorga deliver us, whatever happened to Symrustar, it sounds like it might be worse than I’d imagined! And on that rather horrific note, the chapter comes to an end.
MG: Indeed, it does. This chapter is another one that’s kind of a mess. We do find out what happened to Elminster, and instead of dying, he’s been turned into some sort of ghost creature, apparently courtesy of Mystra. And while this ought to be not only an inconvenience – since he can’t change back without help and all – but a pretty horrifying situation, it’s rather hard to care when Elminster’s own reaction is to basically shrug it off as no big deal and fly off to spy on people (and be a creepy voyeur – and yes, Duilya’s seduction of Lord Evendusk apparently did turn him around, and considering what a ham-fisted depiction of an abuser he was before that, yes the implications are icky). Things also get repetitive, as Elminster spends several chapters recapping his own history (which we’ve already read) and then spies on not one but two secret meetings, both of which mostly consists of characters who won’t be important again (although we do get a quick appearance from the book’s second main antagonist, introduced now… more than two thirds of the way through). And then we also get a glimpse of the horrifying condition Elminster’s oh-so-clever “revenge” on Symrustar left her in (though he will, at least, have the decency to be ashamed about this, which is the bare minimum he could do, but coming from Elminster…). And, for all the narrative insists how totally evil Symrustar was… about all we actually saw her do on-page was try to seduce Elminster and steal his secrets. Which isn’t exactly good, but it’s also not worse than what a lot of ambitious young mages might do in her place (and certainly not worse than what Elminster did to her in return). Which is why said description falls very flat. Anyway, next time we won’t be catching up with Elminster and Symrustar, because it’s time for the Coronal to hold court. We’ll see you then!
I’m also about to finish up my reread and commentary on the (in)famous epic Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic Embers which can be found here if you’re interested!