I’ve just finished Song of the Mysteries. What a wild read. I am elated and sad in parts that it’s over and the cover is closed on Athera and favourite characters.
I’m almost in a book hangover. I want to congratulate Janny for an amazing achievement for finishing the series with so many threads tied off beautifully. And for sticking to the clarity of the vision themes and foreshadowing in the series.
This is going to be a fairly chaotic off the top of my head thoughts about the books. What was expected what wasn’t and other things that stood out to me during initial read.
Straight away I am surprised (pleasantly), that Arithon is still in his corporate body, I thought maybe a discorporate Arithon would be the avenue through which the curse can no longer activate, and Lysaer can work his way to sanity. I had high hopes for Lysaer at this pass. I thought the curse would be permanently deactivated from Arithon crossing the veil.
Dace doesn’t have much opening to push Lysaer away from his curse driven behaviours, those chapters feel appropriately suffocating and tense. I like how this situation isn’t sugar coated, Lysaer is too guarded and formal to allow friendship with a servant. The class barriers are too strong for her to break through to him as Sulfin Evend did. How will this story end. Will her faithful service allow him to grow past his distrust of women?
The break with Elaira, and the careful way she handles that interaction is amazing character writing. The later interaction by Methisle lake also rings very true to the sort of awkward tension that can exist between partners.
Pondering why the mages of Dascen Elur created the half-brothers gifts,I came to the idea that working in tandem they could create more landmass, something Dascen Elur is lacking in. With the constant mention of Mhorovaire I thought it foreshadowing that it could be revived from under the waves by the half brothers and used as a new home for humanity or Paravians.
I like your idea about why the Rauven mages may have created the gifts.
My assumption was less forgiving – that maybe the mages had just discovered HOW to mess with elemental mastery and were enamoured with the novelty. I wonder how many different powers might have emerged had Talera had more children!