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masterghandalfThis is a repost from Das_sporking2. Previous installments of this sporking may be found here.
Warning: This chapter contains discussion of slavery, abuse, and rape.
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Ed Greenwood’s Elminster in Myth Drannor! Last time, Elminster got sucked into a vortex and was captured by a masked mage, creatively called The Masked, who restored him to his body in return for claiming him as his apprentice (and bound him with magic to make sure of it), while someone *cough*Mystra*cough* spirited Symrustar away for parts unknown. Today, we start Part III: Mythal, as we see just what Elminster’s apprenticeship entails, and meet Elminster’s girl-of-the-book… when the book is almost done. Yay. And fair warning, the next few chapters are all very short. Joining us once again will be Calassara and Mira!
Chapter Seventeen: Apprenticed Again
Calassara: Short? I can live with short chapters, especially in these books. For our opening quote, we’re back with the High History of Faerunian Archmages Mighty, which has this to say today: For some years Elminster served the elf known only as The Masked as an apprentice. Despite the cruel nature of the high sorcerer, and the spell chains that bound the human in servitude, a respect grew between master and man. It was respect that ignored the differences between them, and the betrayal and battle they both knew lay ahead. Excuse me? This person has literally enslaved Elminster, and Elminster still has respect for him? I… what… how… no, I refuse to believe it. Call me old fashioned, but I think that one shouldn’t really have respect for slavers – especially if you’re the person they enslaved! And if The Masked really had “respect” for Elminster, he’d have let him go. No, I can only imagine someone – either Elminster himself, or the “High History’s” author, is trying to cope with the situation, very transparently. Ugh. And so, we come to the opening of the chapter proper, on a spring day some twenty years after the first greening season Elminster had known in service to The Masked and excuse me, but twenty years? We’ve skipped twenty years near the end of the damned book? Savored Sting, Greenwood, what is wrong with you?
MG: *sighs* Yes, yes we have indeed skipped twenty years ahead, especially jarring because the book had previously covered maybe a couple of months at most (and that’s counting Elminster’s journey to Cormanthor, and his time in the Vault of Ages). I just… do not understand why Greenwood thought this was a good idea. I don’t know if Greenwood knew why he thought it was a good idea, either. First off, the political and social situation in Cormanthor is going to turn out to be pretty much unchanged in all that time – even for elves, that strains credibility, especially when the city was basically a powder keg ready to go off at any time anyway. But apparently, it’s just… politely not doing that until Elminster’s ready to get back involved in things, so he can sit on the sidelines for twenty years. For another, maybe Greenwood was thinking that in the grand scheme of Elminster’s life, twenty years isn’t much, and it isn’t… in hindsight. But at this point, Elminster isn’t the nearly immortal wizard who’s lived hundreds of years yet. He’s still well within an ordinary human lifespan, and in that context twenty years is a big deal. At the end of last chapter, he was a man in his late twenties – now he’s a man in his late forties. I hope I don’t have to explain why that’s a big difference, but Greenwood just… glosses over it. Overall, the timeskip serves no purpose, kills what narrative momentum we’d managed to build up dead, and just makes me feel even more that Greenwood wasted all our time on sexy elves and repetitive assassination attempts and then tried to cram the actual plot into the book at the very end.
Calassara: I’ll have you know I’m professionally offended by this book. Gah. Well, suddenly on this day, twenty years later, Elminster finds a golden, shining symbol surfacing in his mind, one he’d almost forgotten. Which I guess is the symbol Mystra showed him last time, the one that will turn him back into Elmara and break The Masked’s control. And it looks like instead of using it, it just… slipped his mind. For twenty godsdamned years. Elminster, what is wrong with you? And it’s jarring for other reasons, too – namely, that we the readers literally just saw Mystra show it to him last time, so it feels like Elminster saw it, then immediately forgot it, then was immediately reminded of it – why? The symbol reminds him of Mystra, so he looks around for her but doesn’t see her, though he does feel the awesome weight of her regard; deep and warm and terrible… more loving than… than… Nacacia. Who is Nacacia, you ask? Apparently, she’s helping Elminster weave some complex spell, and they’re floating in midair together. Her eyes were dark and liquid and very large, and there was longing in them as she looked up at him. And of course, we don’t learn anything about the personality of this woman who I presume is Elminster’s new love interest – just that she has pretty eyes. And Elminster thinking about how pretty her eyes are could be very sweet – if I knew literally anything else about this woman or their relationship! Anyway, she looks at Elminster and mouths his name, but apparently doesn’t dare say anything louder while The Masked is there watching them; Elminster resists the urge to strike him (can’t you just feel that mutual respect?) but instead just winks at Nacacia as they go back to their work.
Mira: Well, we learn that The Masked regularly reads their minds and knows that they have feelings for each other – I’m so glad none of my teachers cared about things like that – and has taken to forcing Nacacia to slap Elminster, speak harshly to him, or avoid him outright (based on what we’ve seen, I… don’t think it’s working?). On the other hand, The Masked seldom compelled Elminster to do anything and instead seems to be watching him for something – and whenever Elminster defies him, he punishes him cruelly. Remembering some of those punishments, El shuddered involuntarily. Oh, yes, The Masked has punished Elminster so harshly he apparently has permanent lingering trauma from it – but we’re supposed to believe they respect one another? *she sighs* I have to agree with my colleague – this makes no sense. Elminster and Nacacia share another glance before going back to working on their spell. Elminster then prays to Mystra for guidance, asking if these years of servitude were part of her plan – ah, yes, they are, because last chapter she made it clear she wanted you here? Except she also gave you the ability to escape, which you never used, so maybe that’s why you’ve not heard from her lately – she’s too disgusted with your inability to take a hint. But suddenly, Elminster has a vision of himself standing in the field outside Heldon where he watched his father’s sheep as a boy. A breeze was blowing across it, and he was cold. Small wonder – he was also naked. *she sighs* Oh, Mystra. And Greenwood. Why are they so predictable?
Speaking of Mystra, he looks across the field to see Myrjala floating there. He takes a moment to think about how her eyes are deeper and more alluring than ever before thinking about how she turned out to be Mystra in disguise. He asks if it’s really her, after all these years and she says it is; how is it that you doubt me? Ah, because he’s spent twenty years as a slave? Twenty years we didn’t get to see, and that he could have escaped from at any time, but even so… Elminster falls to his knees, telling her he was wrong to doubt, but it’s been so long, and she says it’s not long for an elf, and asks if he’s beginning to learn patience at last. Ah, maybe not long for an elf, but Elminster is human and twenty years is a significant fraction of a human lifetime… perhaps the goddess, who is, after all, immortal, has forgotten that? Elminster says he only wanted to see her, and that he needs guidance; Mystra is pleased, since too many people never realize they need that (though I’m fairly sure Greenwood only allows Elminster to admit it because he’s speaking to Greenwood’s favorite goddess…) and crash happily through life, laying waste to all they can reach in Faerun around them. And… this is different from some of what Elminster gets up to? But Mystra calls him dearest of my Chosen (does she even have any other Chosen at the moment? If so, that doesn’t mean much) and tells him that too many people never even get any guidance and have to learn to stand on their own. You’ve certainly mastered that last talent. Ah, beg pardon, but when? Mystra, you masterminded his entire life, or have you forgotten? Elminster nearly bursts into tears, but Mystra assures him that much though you fear you’ve forgotten me and strayed from the task I set you, I am well pleased. But Elminster still doesn’t know what the task you set for him is, so how can he… but the vision fades, and Elminster finds himself back in the tower, staring into Nacacia’s eyes.
MG: And I’ll just say, all of this would hit a lot more if we’d actually spent time with Elminster as The Masked’s slave, feeling that he’s lost his way and that his goddess has forsaken him. But the way the book is actually structured… he literally had a vision from Mystra just last chapter, and then we jump straight to him getting another vision from her this chapter, so it never feels like she abandoned him at all! Again, this is what happens when you cram your actual plot into the last fifth of the book!
Calassara: So, Elminster goes back to work, unable to keep thoughts of Nacacia out of his mind and wondering how much of that The Masked can sense, and what he really thinks about them. Nacacia. Ah, leave my thoughts for a moment, leave me in peace! But, no… Greenwood, I’ve known this girl for all of three pages, in which she hasn’t had a single line of dialogue. You’ll have to try harder than that to convince me Elminster’s in love with her. We then learn that Nacacia is a half-elf, and that she was brought into the tower as a bright-eyed waif one night, huddled in the arms of The Masked; Elminster thinks he probably kidnapped her from her village. And that description of her makes me think she’s much younger than Elminster, probably not much more than a child when she was brought here and they met – and half-elves age somewhat slower than full humans to begin with, at least where I come from – so… ick. Apparently, she’s bright and bubbly, possessed of a pranksome nature that The Masked has tried to beat out of her – including by forced transformations into toads or earthworms, lovely – and she’d swiftly grown into a beauty, which makes me think all the more that she was probably an adolescent when The Masked brough her, if she was still “growing into” her looks. She had auburn hair that flowed down to the backs of her knees in a thick fall, and a surprisingly muscular back and shoulders… El had admired the deep curve of her spine. Her large eyes, smile and cheekbones bore the classic beauty of her elven blood, and her waist was so slim as to seem almost toylike. *rolling her eyes* She’s Elminster’s perfect woman, we get it, can we move on? Her master allowed her the black breeches and vest of a thief – why, other than so Elminster can ogle her in that outfit? – and has apparently taught her spells to animate her hair, so as to stroke him, when he took her into his chamber of nights and left Elminster floating furiously outside. *coldly* Oh, and it sounds like he’s a rapist, too – because as his apprentice and his slave, there’s no way Nacacia could turn him down – but remember, Elminster respects him. *disgusted noise* Greenwood, you can make The Masked a worthy opponent, or you can make him an irredeemable waste of space – but by the gods, you probably shouldn’t try to do both!
Well, Nacacia won’t tell Elminster what he actually does to her in those chambers, save that he never takes off his mask, and once she woke up from a nightmare screaming about soft and terrible tentacles…
MG: Now, you might be thinking that in Greenwood’s books so far, “tentacles” tends to equal “Malaugrym,” and the Malaugrym are Elminster’s supposed arch enemies and Elminster recognizes The Masked’s voice from somewhere, but I’ll just head things off now and say that no, The Masked is not a Malaugrym. I have no idea if this was supposed to be a deliberate red herring, something Greenwood changed his mind on, or if he just wasn’t thinking the implications of what he was writing through.
Calassara: Can I go with the latter? Because I bet it’s the latter… Well, The Masked not only never removes his mask, he apparently never sleeps, he has no friends, and no one ever comes to visit him. He spends his time working on magic and teaching his two apprentices (and torturing and possibly raping them – don’t forget that!). Sometimes he treated them almost as friends and no, Greenwood, I refuse to believe it – not when you’ve just spent so much of the chapter making sure we know what an abusive monster he is. You can’t have it both ways, and I can only imagine his moments of being “friendly” were just him toying with them. But he doesn’t tell them anything about himself, and other times he doesn’t bother to pretend they’re not his slaves. He also seems to be taunting Elminster and Nacacia with each other, thrusting them into messy, slippery jobs half-naked to help each other lift, sort or clean. What, is he a voyeur trying to get them to have sex for his amusement? It’s a Greenwood book, so it wouldn’t surprise me… Any time they do show affection for each other, he punishes them; apparently, his favorite punishment is to paralyze one of their bodies and set acid leeches on it to feed. *she shudders* The leeches, as the name suggests, leave trails of slime that burn the victims’ bodies and sometimes bore into them, but The Masked is always very careful to keep them alive. Still, Elminster has learned that there are few things as painful as a sluglike beast eating its way very slowly into your lungs, or stomach, or guts. Greenwood… you’re enjoying this a little too much, aren’t you?
MG: And after all of this, I’m pretty sure the reason The Masked doesn’t let his apprentices know where or when he sleeps (or rather, enters reverie, Greenwood) is so they won’t pull a Darth Plagueis on him. Because after this… yeah, I’m quite sure either of them would in a heartbeat. Though considering Elminster literally forgot his means of escape, maybe I’m overestimating him.
Mira: But then somehow, we get this: Yet El had learned true respect for The Masked during twenty years of learning deep-woven, complex elven magics. The elf was a meticulous crafter of spells and a stylish caster, who left nothing to chance, who always thought ahead, and seemed never to be surprised. He had an instinctive understanding of magic, and could modify, combine or improvise spells with almost effortless ease and no hesitation. He also never forgot where he’d put anything, no matter how trivial, and always kept himself under iron control, never showing weariness, loneliness or a need to confide in anyone. Even his losses of temper seemed almost planned and scripted. But, but… that makes him worse, because it means all the horrible things he’s done were deliberate and calculated, not merely done in a rage! And being good at being evil is a bad thing! But I suppose this proves what Elminster, Mystra and Greenwood really care about – mastery of magic is valued above all, and all else is unimportant. Strange, because my teachers always made sure I understood how dangerous power and skill without restraint are… Elminster also thinks to himself about how, after twenty years, he still doesn’t know who The Masked is. He thinks that he’s probably from one of the old noble families of Cormanthor, but is not ancient himself, and that he frequently projects a false image of himself to tend to his business elsewhere. Elminster is also surprised at the power of some of the magic The Masked has taught him and Nacacia, though he realizes that The Masked probably doesn’t fear them as he has control over their bodies and never lets them leave his tower or learn how to create defensive mantles.
He also wonders if the Srinshee or the Coronal think he’s dead, or if they cared about his fate at all. Well, they were ostensibly your friends, so I’d hope so… but from what I’ve seen of Greenwood characters so far, maybe I’m expecting too much? More often, he wondered what had become of the elven lady Symrustar, whom he’d left crawling in the woods, when he’d been unable to defend her or even make her notice him. Well, she was apparently whisked away to… what’s possibly safety?... no thanks to you…
MG: And even though Elminster apparently thinks of Symrustar “often,” I find that kind of hard to credit, since I don’t believe she’s mentioned by name again until the epilogue.
Mira: *sigh* Why am I not surprised? He also wonders about Mythanthar, though he doubts the Mythal has been created already since The Masked would know. More recently, though, The Masked has been gone more and more, leaving his apprentices alone to feed themselves or follow lists or preset tasks. Yet he kept a watch over them; unauthorized exploration of the tower, or overmuch intimacy between them, brought swift and sharp retributive spells out of the empty air. Apparently, a few tendays ago Nacacia kissed Elminster’s shoulder (was it bare, or did she kiss his sleeve?) and a magical whip lashed her lips and face to bloody ribbons. When she woke up, she was healed, but thorns had grown in her mouth to prevent further kissing, until they faded a tenday later. But The Masked is someone Elminster can respect; Greenwood says so! Usually, when The Masked shows himself lately, it’s to get their help on a spell he’s working on, like he’s having them do now. Apparently, webs of linked spells like the one he’s having them make are something he uses fairly often, though he never tells them what they’re for, and Elminster suspects that’s on purpose, so that his spells striking down a distant rival would bear no hint of who was behind them. Finally, when they’re done, The Masked calls Elminster to his side, and the chapter ends as he tells him that We have death to wave, together. And I can think of a number of various ominous things that can mean, with killing someone being perhaps the least frightening…
MG: Well, the big thing about this chapter was the timeskip, and then the recap of what apparently happened during the timeskip. And really, I think that said timeskip is just too long; twenty years is a big deal, but the book doesn’t really treat it like that, and the situation in Elminster’s life and in Cormanthor as a whole hasn’t changed enough to justify it. Otherwise, a lot of it’s just kind of unpleasant, as we spend a lot of time dwelling on the details of The Masked’s various cruelties, while we also keep getting hit over the head with the fact that Elminster respects this monster. And I still can’t get over that, despite having the tools at his disposal to escape, he’s just… not done that. For twenty years of cruelty and abuse when he could have, per Mystra’s vision, turned the tables on The Masked at any time. I also think it’s far, far too late in the book to introduce the love interest and expect us to care, especially when Nacacia doesn’t even get any lines in the chapter. Anyway, we’re now through with this chapter; next time, we start to see just what The Masked wants Elminster and Nacacia for. We’ll see you then!
I’ve also just finished my reread and commentary on the (in)famous epic Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic Embers which can be found here; now’s the time to check it out, if you’re interested!
Warning: This chapter contains discussion of slavery, abuse, and rape.
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Ed Greenwood’s Elminster in Myth Drannor! Last time, Elminster got sucked into a vortex and was captured by a masked mage, creatively called The Masked, who restored him to his body in return for claiming him as his apprentice (and bound him with magic to make sure of it), while someone *cough*Mystra*cough* spirited Symrustar away for parts unknown. Today, we start Part III: Mythal, as we see just what Elminster’s apprenticeship entails, and meet Elminster’s girl-of-the-book… when the book is almost done. Yay. And fair warning, the next few chapters are all very short. Joining us once again will be Calassara and Mira!
Chapter Seventeen: Apprenticed Again
Calassara: Short? I can live with short chapters, especially in these books. For our opening quote, we’re back with the High History of Faerunian Archmages Mighty, which has this to say today: For some years Elminster served the elf known only as The Masked as an apprentice. Despite the cruel nature of the high sorcerer, and the spell chains that bound the human in servitude, a respect grew between master and man. It was respect that ignored the differences between them, and the betrayal and battle they both knew lay ahead. Excuse me? This person has literally enslaved Elminster, and Elminster still has respect for him? I… what… how… no, I refuse to believe it. Call me old fashioned, but I think that one shouldn’t really have respect for slavers – especially if you’re the person they enslaved! And if The Masked really had “respect” for Elminster, he’d have let him go. No, I can only imagine someone – either Elminster himself, or the “High History’s” author, is trying to cope with the situation, very transparently. Ugh. And so, we come to the opening of the chapter proper, on a spring day some twenty years after the first greening season Elminster had known in service to The Masked and excuse me, but twenty years? We’ve skipped twenty years near the end of the damned book? Savored Sting, Greenwood, what is wrong with you?
MG: *sighs* Yes, yes we have indeed skipped twenty years ahead, especially jarring because the book had previously covered maybe a couple of months at most (and that’s counting Elminster’s journey to Cormanthor, and his time in the Vault of Ages). I just… do not understand why Greenwood thought this was a good idea. I don’t know if Greenwood knew why he thought it was a good idea, either. First off, the political and social situation in Cormanthor is going to turn out to be pretty much unchanged in all that time – even for elves, that strains credibility, especially when the city was basically a powder keg ready to go off at any time anyway. But apparently, it’s just… politely not doing that until Elminster’s ready to get back involved in things, so he can sit on the sidelines for twenty years. For another, maybe Greenwood was thinking that in the grand scheme of Elminster’s life, twenty years isn’t much, and it isn’t… in hindsight. But at this point, Elminster isn’t the nearly immortal wizard who’s lived hundreds of years yet. He’s still well within an ordinary human lifespan, and in that context twenty years is a big deal. At the end of last chapter, he was a man in his late twenties – now he’s a man in his late forties. I hope I don’t have to explain why that’s a big difference, but Greenwood just… glosses over it. Overall, the timeskip serves no purpose, kills what narrative momentum we’d managed to build up dead, and just makes me feel even more that Greenwood wasted all our time on sexy elves and repetitive assassination attempts and then tried to cram the actual plot into the book at the very end.
Calassara: I’ll have you know I’m professionally offended by this book. Gah. Well, suddenly on this day, twenty years later, Elminster finds a golden, shining symbol surfacing in his mind, one he’d almost forgotten. Which I guess is the symbol Mystra showed him last time, the one that will turn him back into Elmara and break The Masked’s control. And it looks like instead of using it, it just… slipped his mind. For twenty godsdamned years. Elminster, what is wrong with you? And it’s jarring for other reasons, too – namely, that we the readers literally just saw Mystra show it to him last time, so it feels like Elminster saw it, then immediately forgot it, then was immediately reminded of it – why? The symbol reminds him of Mystra, so he looks around for her but doesn’t see her, though he does feel the awesome weight of her regard; deep and warm and terrible… more loving than… than… Nacacia. Who is Nacacia, you ask? Apparently, she’s helping Elminster weave some complex spell, and they’re floating in midair together. Her eyes were dark and liquid and very large, and there was longing in them as she looked up at him. And of course, we don’t learn anything about the personality of this woman who I presume is Elminster’s new love interest – just that she has pretty eyes. And Elminster thinking about how pretty her eyes are could be very sweet – if I knew literally anything else about this woman or their relationship! Anyway, she looks at Elminster and mouths his name, but apparently doesn’t dare say anything louder while The Masked is there watching them; Elminster resists the urge to strike him (can’t you just feel that mutual respect?) but instead just winks at Nacacia as they go back to their work.
Mira: Well, we learn that The Masked regularly reads their minds and knows that they have feelings for each other – I’m so glad none of my teachers cared about things like that – and has taken to forcing Nacacia to slap Elminster, speak harshly to him, or avoid him outright (based on what we’ve seen, I… don’t think it’s working?). On the other hand, The Masked seldom compelled Elminster to do anything and instead seems to be watching him for something – and whenever Elminster defies him, he punishes him cruelly. Remembering some of those punishments, El shuddered involuntarily. Oh, yes, The Masked has punished Elminster so harshly he apparently has permanent lingering trauma from it – but we’re supposed to believe they respect one another? *she sighs* I have to agree with my colleague – this makes no sense. Elminster and Nacacia share another glance before going back to working on their spell. Elminster then prays to Mystra for guidance, asking if these years of servitude were part of her plan – ah, yes, they are, because last chapter she made it clear she wanted you here? Except she also gave you the ability to escape, which you never used, so maybe that’s why you’ve not heard from her lately – she’s too disgusted with your inability to take a hint. But suddenly, Elminster has a vision of himself standing in the field outside Heldon where he watched his father’s sheep as a boy. A breeze was blowing across it, and he was cold. Small wonder – he was also naked. *she sighs* Oh, Mystra. And Greenwood. Why are they so predictable?
Speaking of Mystra, he looks across the field to see Myrjala floating there. He takes a moment to think about how her eyes are deeper and more alluring than ever before thinking about how she turned out to be Mystra in disguise. He asks if it’s really her, after all these years and she says it is; how is it that you doubt me? Ah, because he’s spent twenty years as a slave? Twenty years we didn’t get to see, and that he could have escaped from at any time, but even so… Elminster falls to his knees, telling her he was wrong to doubt, but it’s been so long, and she says it’s not long for an elf, and asks if he’s beginning to learn patience at last. Ah, maybe not long for an elf, but Elminster is human and twenty years is a significant fraction of a human lifetime… perhaps the goddess, who is, after all, immortal, has forgotten that? Elminster says he only wanted to see her, and that he needs guidance; Mystra is pleased, since too many people never realize they need that (though I’m fairly sure Greenwood only allows Elminster to admit it because he’s speaking to Greenwood’s favorite goddess…) and crash happily through life, laying waste to all they can reach in Faerun around them. And… this is different from some of what Elminster gets up to? But Mystra calls him dearest of my Chosen (does she even have any other Chosen at the moment? If so, that doesn’t mean much) and tells him that too many people never even get any guidance and have to learn to stand on their own. You’ve certainly mastered that last talent. Ah, beg pardon, but when? Mystra, you masterminded his entire life, or have you forgotten? Elminster nearly bursts into tears, but Mystra assures him that much though you fear you’ve forgotten me and strayed from the task I set you, I am well pleased. But Elminster still doesn’t know what the task you set for him is, so how can he… but the vision fades, and Elminster finds himself back in the tower, staring into Nacacia’s eyes.
MG: And I’ll just say, all of this would hit a lot more if we’d actually spent time with Elminster as The Masked’s slave, feeling that he’s lost his way and that his goddess has forsaken him. But the way the book is actually structured… he literally had a vision from Mystra just last chapter, and then we jump straight to him getting another vision from her this chapter, so it never feels like she abandoned him at all! Again, this is what happens when you cram your actual plot into the last fifth of the book!
Calassara: So, Elminster goes back to work, unable to keep thoughts of Nacacia out of his mind and wondering how much of that The Masked can sense, and what he really thinks about them. Nacacia. Ah, leave my thoughts for a moment, leave me in peace! But, no… Greenwood, I’ve known this girl for all of three pages, in which she hasn’t had a single line of dialogue. You’ll have to try harder than that to convince me Elminster’s in love with her. We then learn that Nacacia is a half-elf, and that she was brought into the tower as a bright-eyed waif one night, huddled in the arms of The Masked; Elminster thinks he probably kidnapped her from her village. And that description of her makes me think she’s much younger than Elminster, probably not much more than a child when she was brought here and they met – and half-elves age somewhat slower than full humans to begin with, at least where I come from – so… ick. Apparently, she’s bright and bubbly, possessed of a pranksome nature that The Masked has tried to beat out of her – including by forced transformations into toads or earthworms, lovely – and she’d swiftly grown into a beauty, which makes me think all the more that she was probably an adolescent when The Masked brough her, if she was still “growing into” her looks. She had auburn hair that flowed down to the backs of her knees in a thick fall, and a surprisingly muscular back and shoulders… El had admired the deep curve of her spine. Her large eyes, smile and cheekbones bore the classic beauty of her elven blood, and her waist was so slim as to seem almost toylike. *rolling her eyes* She’s Elminster’s perfect woman, we get it, can we move on? Her master allowed her the black breeches and vest of a thief – why, other than so Elminster can ogle her in that outfit? – and has apparently taught her spells to animate her hair, so as to stroke him, when he took her into his chamber of nights and left Elminster floating furiously outside. *coldly* Oh, and it sounds like he’s a rapist, too – because as his apprentice and his slave, there’s no way Nacacia could turn him down – but remember, Elminster respects him. *disgusted noise* Greenwood, you can make The Masked a worthy opponent, or you can make him an irredeemable waste of space – but by the gods, you probably shouldn’t try to do both!
Well, Nacacia won’t tell Elminster what he actually does to her in those chambers, save that he never takes off his mask, and once she woke up from a nightmare screaming about soft and terrible tentacles…
MG: Now, you might be thinking that in Greenwood’s books so far, “tentacles” tends to equal “Malaugrym,” and the Malaugrym are Elminster’s supposed arch enemies and Elminster recognizes The Masked’s voice from somewhere, but I’ll just head things off now and say that no, The Masked is not a Malaugrym. I have no idea if this was supposed to be a deliberate red herring, something Greenwood changed his mind on, or if he just wasn’t thinking the implications of what he was writing through.
Calassara: Can I go with the latter? Because I bet it’s the latter… Well, The Masked not only never removes his mask, he apparently never sleeps, he has no friends, and no one ever comes to visit him. He spends his time working on magic and teaching his two apprentices (and torturing and possibly raping them – don’t forget that!). Sometimes he treated them almost as friends and no, Greenwood, I refuse to believe it – not when you’ve just spent so much of the chapter making sure we know what an abusive monster he is. You can’t have it both ways, and I can only imagine his moments of being “friendly” were just him toying with them. But he doesn’t tell them anything about himself, and other times he doesn’t bother to pretend they’re not his slaves. He also seems to be taunting Elminster and Nacacia with each other, thrusting them into messy, slippery jobs half-naked to help each other lift, sort or clean. What, is he a voyeur trying to get them to have sex for his amusement? It’s a Greenwood book, so it wouldn’t surprise me… Any time they do show affection for each other, he punishes them; apparently, his favorite punishment is to paralyze one of their bodies and set acid leeches on it to feed. *she shudders* The leeches, as the name suggests, leave trails of slime that burn the victims’ bodies and sometimes bore into them, but The Masked is always very careful to keep them alive. Still, Elminster has learned that there are few things as painful as a sluglike beast eating its way very slowly into your lungs, or stomach, or guts. Greenwood… you’re enjoying this a little too much, aren’t you?
MG: And after all of this, I’m pretty sure the reason The Masked doesn’t let his apprentices know where or when he sleeps (or rather, enters reverie, Greenwood) is so they won’t pull a Darth Plagueis on him. Because after this… yeah, I’m quite sure either of them would in a heartbeat. Though considering Elminster literally forgot his means of escape, maybe I’m overestimating him.
Mira: But then somehow, we get this: Yet El had learned true respect for The Masked during twenty years of learning deep-woven, complex elven magics. The elf was a meticulous crafter of spells and a stylish caster, who left nothing to chance, who always thought ahead, and seemed never to be surprised. He had an instinctive understanding of magic, and could modify, combine or improvise spells with almost effortless ease and no hesitation. He also never forgot where he’d put anything, no matter how trivial, and always kept himself under iron control, never showing weariness, loneliness or a need to confide in anyone. Even his losses of temper seemed almost planned and scripted. But, but… that makes him worse, because it means all the horrible things he’s done were deliberate and calculated, not merely done in a rage! And being good at being evil is a bad thing! But I suppose this proves what Elminster, Mystra and Greenwood really care about – mastery of magic is valued above all, and all else is unimportant. Strange, because my teachers always made sure I understood how dangerous power and skill without restraint are… Elminster also thinks to himself about how, after twenty years, he still doesn’t know who The Masked is. He thinks that he’s probably from one of the old noble families of Cormanthor, but is not ancient himself, and that he frequently projects a false image of himself to tend to his business elsewhere. Elminster is also surprised at the power of some of the magic The Masked has taught him and Nacacia, though he realizes that The Masked probably doesn’t fear them as he has control over their bodies and never lets them leave his tower or learn how to create defensive mantles.
He also wonders if the Srinshee or the Coronal think he’s dead, or if they cared about his fate at all. Well, they were ostensibly your friends, so I’d hope so… but from what I’ve seen of Greenwood characters so far, maybe I’m expecting too much? More often, he wondered what had become of the elven lady Symrustar, whom he’d left crawling in the woods, when he’d been unable to defend her or even make her notice him. Well, she was apparently whisked away to… what’s possibly safety?... no thanks to you…
MG: And even though Elminster apparently thinks of Symrustar “often,” I find that kind of hard to credit, since I don’t believe she’s mentioned by name again until the epilogue.
Mira: *sigh* Why am I not surprised? He also wonders about Mythanthar, though he doubts the Mythal has been created already since The Masked would know. More recently, though, The Masked has been gone more and more, leaving his apprentices alone to feed themselves or follow lists or preset tasks. Yet he kept a watch over them; unauthorized exploration of the tower, or overmuch intimacy between them, brought swift and sharp retributive spells out of the empty air. Apparently, a few tendays ago Nacacia kissed Elminster’s shoulder (was it bare, or did she kiss his sleeve?) and a magical whip lashed her lips and face to bloody ribbons. When she woke up, she was healed, but thorns had grown in her mouth to prevent further kissing, until they faded a tenday later. But The Masked is someone Elminster can respect; Greenwood says so! Usually, when The Masked shows himself lately, it’s to get their help on a spell he’s working on, like he’s having them do now. Apparently, webs of linked spells like the one he’s having them make are something he uses fairly often, though he never tells them what they’re for, and Elminster suspects that’s on purpose, so that his spells striking down a distant rival would bear no hint of who was behind them. Finally, when they’re done, The Masked calls Elminster to his side, and the chapter ends as he tells him that We have death to wave, together. And I can think of a number of various ominous things that can mean, with killing someone being perhaps the least frightening…
MG: Well, the big thing about this chapter was the timeskip, and then the recap of what apparently happened during the timeskip. And really, I think that said timeskip is just too long; twenty years is a big deal, but the book doesn’t really treat it like that, and the situation in Elminster’s life and in Cormanthor as a whole hasn’t changed enough to justify it. Otherwise, a lot of it’s just kind of unpleasant, as we spend a lot of time dwelling on the details of The Masked’s various cruelties, while we also keep getting hit over the head with the fact that Elminster respects this monster. And I still can’t get over that, despite having the tools at his disposal to escape, he’s just… not done that. For twenty years of cruelty and abuse when he could have, per Mystra’s vision, turned the tables on The Masked at any time. I also think it’s far, far too late in the book to introduce the love interest and expect us to care, especially when Nacacia doesn’t even get any lines in the chapter. Anyway, we’re now through with this chapter; next time, we start to see just what The Masked wants Elminster and Nacacia for. We’ll see you then!
I’ve also just finished my reread and commentary on the (in)famous epic Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic Embers which can be found here; now’s the time to check it out, if you’re interested!
