Chapter 34

she has gone from my favorite character to my most hated. Her sheer arrogance when she mistakes floating through society with navigating it.

Sean Shivers

I like the path of Angharad. I like her starting to realize that the world isn't exactly as she thinks it is and her place isn't what she expected. I like Osian stepping in and denying the place of nobility in the Watch. I think I can start to see the turn of Angharad towards the Watch as something other than just and means to an end. I don't know if that will last long term but she needs something to build her honor on other than what she's known so far. Also, for some reason, I always read her name as Angahard. No idea why but I've been doing it since the start.

Mario Morales

Better yet, there's a good chance she'll see it or wreckage going home.

Poop McScoop

Didn't Song already get an upgrade? Angharas had rifles for the crew.

Poop McScoop

Her uncle clearly dislikes her father.

Poop McScoop

I'm not entirely convinced Nerei didn't set the bounty to flush out overly corrupt watch members and temper Tristan.

Poop McScoop

Ooo, I always love a solid chapter of Angharad. She's so simple in her motivations (Honor, bladework, honor again) but there's always some twist in there that tries to teach her that the world is not so straightforward. Or if it was, she doesn't live there anymore. Her stubbornness was starting to stagnate her far too much to survive much longer here, so I'm glad to see Osian's arrival has her not only being chastised for her honor-bound thickheadedness, but also being told nearly outright that deals happen in the background and her plans are useless against greater machinations.

Valerian Paper

I don't think that happened yet. I believe this chapter's event occurred the same day song visited Tupoc

Angharad chapters give me Sansa vibes. I just want to skip it because the MC is so darn annoying. Is this by design?

Her father was trying to teach the rest of what she doesn’t know yet, and by the looks of it got partway. If only yeah not interrupted by death…

Aguido Horatio Davis

Surprised none of the nobles gossiped about it

Matthew Flowers

angharad: huh, most other malani nobles are annoying or honorless or kinda evil. thankfully I'm not like that maryam: ...

Webwoven

I'm not sure, Nerei seems pretty hands-off right now and she's not in a direct position of power to make orders like that. Asher, however...

Webwoven

I think news of the 49th is gonna spread pretty fast and Angharad is able to put two and two together

Joe Rachman

Well, then I want to see her used as a living canon Ball fired at Pandemonium’s Gates :D

MapForge

Starting? She's been a pretty annoying person from the get-go.

Nedardo

I’m looking forward to Angharad begrudgingly returning to the Thirteenth and finding that Tristan and Song have gone from despising each other, to being more civil than they’ve ever been in the space of a week, and having to puzzle out just what the hell happened there.

Scar_Knight

Good to see Cressida took the bathtub treatment well. Also, Osian implied he would be the Umuthi instructor for the trip, so are there other instructors coming along for each cabal? Finally, Osian now that you're here can you PLEASE explain the rifles? I need Song to get her weapon upgrade pronto.

MouseThatJumps

This is the same author who wrote the Mirror Knight, and we ended up liking the Mirror Knight after he grew up a LOT. Now there was a Lawful Stupid archetype!

Darryl Greensill

We already have a map. It's on the Pale Lights site under 'Art and Maps'.

Emmet Mackle

Agreed! I think it's really interesting to blend the paladin archetype with an imperialist state whose nobility is realistically evil

Brendan Murphy

A map would be very welcome, especially given how much this chapter refers to geography and the related politics. The Auric Strait sounds pretty important, and I would love to understand where exactly it is.

Kel

I'm starting to not like Angharad. The mixture of entitlement, naivete and casual racism is grinding my gears. yes, she's a product of her upbringing... she's also a nuisance who's greatest and only virtue at this point seems to be her skill with a blade

Mace

Lot to unpack. I wonder if the servant at the door that mentioned orographic lifting was Angharad’s secret friend. That tip about how out of her depth she was going to be helped her hold her own. I finally think i understand her it’s a hard thing to slowly have your eyes opened that the ideals of your childhood were polite fiction at best and lies at worst. It was irritating trying to decide if she was bad with people or just not as intelligent as she seemed, I suppose I should have known neither was true. The monogenetic education of her childhood wouldn’t have been such a problem if her family wasn’t killed. Though any qualifier that includes family not killed isn’t really a qualifier at all. Perfect ending nailed it. Osian with the best of intentions just threw a sharper named Angharad into that ship from the perfect ending’s magazine.

Colin Love

Thats the thing tho, I tried to think of it that way, that she is well-meaning. but then I can’t help but see how hypocritical she is. I do find her fascinating, how her hypocrisy seemed obvious but at the same time made sense given the blinders she has, but that’s all I see her as, a fascinating study, not a likeable character. What I completely don’t understand is where she fits among the other 3 main characters. Her views just seem so different from the others, opposite, even. To the point that she seemed dumb compared to the other three. I actually thought it was natural for her to leave the thirteenth, as I just don’t see her story progressing alongside the others.

Ryu

Angharad can't choose to lie. Well, there isn't a natural law, but there is the fact that her brain will break if she tries, and if she duct-tapes her brain back together and tries anyway Tristan will read her like a book and Song will see exactly where she's going with the attempt, from ten miles away. And Maryam will give exactly zero fucks for desperate special pleading that Angharad can't tell them, just trust her and stop asking, please. So, "why are you back here again? What changed?" is going to be a fascinating conversation with Song and Maryam. Going to be just *amazing* to watch.

Aguido Horatio Davis

While I'm starting to find her horniness more annoying, I suspect that this is because its becoming less conceited. To my memory in the past it felt like she used good looks as well as nobility to assume someone's virtue. In this chapter she's noticing these things but apparently trying to not let them impact her value judgements. Which comes off as more horny.

Benjamin Booncharoen

I think it is a positive sign that Angharad felt the urge to defend her cabal mates (even though she didn't act on it). Being exposed to the prejudice of her (former) peers might help her see that Myriam is right in that she and her people have suffered a great wrong. At least I hope so.

MeYouIt

He might even help!

Darryl Greensill

They are negatives and her character arc is going to be about overcoming them. This chapter gave her two hard pushes towards empathy with Maryam.

Darryl Greensill

I reckon its the only sane thing to do. Her uncle clearly cares about the family and he'll have a better perspective on how pissed the watch will be when she pulls the heist off.

Benjamin Booncharoen

Do people reckon Angharad she should tell her uncle about her dad and the infernal forge?

Benjamin Booncharoen

I am with you so far, but i always feel like these qualities are tainted by her naivety, black/white viewing, "compromised"/biased view point from upbringing (against slaves, for nobles, against lowerborn etc), and honestly, a bit of her lust. maybe i should reread a bit, might just have the negative factors too strongly in my memory

s476

Ferranda, Zenzele, Rong and Shalini

Joppe Caron

Whose in the 31st again?

Joe Rachman

What an interesting contract Lindiwe has. It will be fun reading theories about it. On to Angharad, I can definitely believe her missing the high society events given how well she navigates through them (great canvas piece about Angharad that gives a better view on her as a person). But now there is a night and day difference with how she understands high society peers and her blinders with how everybody who is not high society, or Malani, functions. I can, however, believe it is representative of real life where we mostly know the view on things that we grew up with and it takes living abroad or in a different culture, for years, that makes us aware of how narrow our view is.

Aurelian Ungureanu

In classic AD&D, Angharad would be sent to “see to the horses” while the other three “question” the prisoners. Managing the information intake of the paladin and pointing them in the right direction to Smite Evil is part of the fun of the game!

Darryl Greensill

Her redeeming qualities, apart from her combat skills, are that she is very honest and loyal and well-meaning. She has compassion and wants to do the right thing, within the boundaries of honour. She is a classic Lawful Good character of average intelligence and wisdom; when I first started reading this story (last book) I thought she was an interesting take on the paladin archetype, and I still have that opinion. Angharad stan for life here!

Darryl Greensill

im an angy hater for life fr. cant wait for her to eat her words at asphodel

joie01

i’d ask for a map, while we’re at it

Darryl Greensill

Or in somebody else doing an in depth analysis. I don't know what exactly it is, but I find her to have few redeeming qualities, she seems hypocritical to me foremost. But I don't think I have the best grasp on her character.

s476

I would be truly interested in an author perspective on the character impressions angharad is supposed to transmit.

s476

The politics and people, places and customs, so dense. Do we need a study guide and ready reckoner?

TS

Yeah but probably not until the end of the book/start of the next

Joe Rachman

I assume they'll be back? Or is this their final test

Thien Dinh

Skimmer operations and Maryam seem to be one thread to follow in the coming unfolding of the plot. That vicious fight, where A did not have her contract to pull on, I was looking forward to how that unfolded.

TS

The Fourth is already on the scene, so the Thirty-First would make it a party.

Aguido Horatio Davis

i bet nerei choose those four, the dark irony is too strong to be anything but a mask sense of humor.

Ed

YAY

Max Yap

Also I assume a replacement for the 49th is now needed...

Joe Rachman

Hmmm frustrating that they're out of the Scholomance so fast. I like the atmosphere and I wanted to learn about the Deicide classes

Joe Rachman

Yay :)