Onyx Storm: Chapter 41
Apr. 7th, 2025 12:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaSo this dragon is speaking to Violet.
I mean, Tairn canonically has a deep and gruff voice, so that is a weird way to put it. And also--okay, is it that dragons can't speak to humans without a bond or that they simply choose not to? Because I had the impression that it was the former, but apparently no, it's just like...dragons just choose not to? Because that seems like a stupid decision on their part, filtering all communication through either another dragon or their rider.
So these dragons can just read minds and are telepathing with everyone on scene.
Okay, are we finally going to get some actual dragon lore? No, we are not. Instead Andarna sits for hours telling her entire life story to the irids while Violet, Ridoc, Tairn, and Ridoc's dragon sit around watching. The irids are clearly not about what Andarna is telling them, but she does not appear to notice. Once she's done telling it, they retreat, clearly pissed by what she's saying.
What we've learned about them: there are hundreds of them, and they're passive-aggressive as fuck. Cool.
The irids confer, then come back to inform them that Violet has failed their test for them.
You just left a dragon egg behind and hoped it would all be fine?
I mean, I get where the irid are coming from, I guess, but I'm also like...even if they wanted to 'choose peace', the venin are not choosing peace, so the war is inevitable here. I can see how they would think Violet took advantage of Andarna, even though we know that's not the case. Really the fault is with all the adult dragons for not supervising her better.
I don't know, man, I theoretically see where the irid are coming from but we know so little about the Empyrean and the structure of dragon society in Navarre that it's hard to decide how to feel about their argument. Earlier in the series we were told dragon tails are matter of "choice and need", but then the irids are all feathertails because they're non-violent? So does your tail not change until you decide you need a weapon, or is this an unconscious change that dragons undergo in Navarre because they're seeing combat? But we know that dragons in Navarre don't all bond humans, in fact the number that bond has been decreasing, so do all those dragons also have feathertails? Or do they just live in a culture where the tail changing is expected so they all do it?
Also, again, the book keeps telling us that dragons don't obey humans and they make their own decisions and blah blah blah. But suddenly Andarna has no agency in her own life and everything she did is Violet's fault?
This conflict would carry a lot more weight if it had been set up properly in earlier books. For example, if Violet had pressured Andarna to do something dangerous, or if we'd had a scene that put weight on Andarna's tail changing instead of a bunch of jokey scenes about how adolescent dragons are grumpy.
Dragons don’t speak to humans they’re not bonded to, yet that deep, gruff voice definitely does not belong to Tairn.
I mean, Tairn canonically has a deep and gruff voice, so that is a weird way to put it. And also--okay, is it that dragons can't speak to humans without a bond or that they simply choose not to? Because I had the impression that it was the former, but apparently no, it's just like...dragons just choose not to? Because that seems like a stupid decision on their part, filtering all communication through either another dragon or their rider.
So these dragons can just read minds and are telepathing with everyone on scene.
“Oh my.” The female on the right gasps.
“What have you done to your tail?” The one on the left reels back.
Andarna cranes her neck to check her scorpiontail. “Nothing. It’s fine.”
My gaze jumps from irid to irid, my stomach sinking lower as I count from one to six.
They’re all feathertails.
“Tell us what they’ve done to you,” the male in front of us demands.
“Done to me? I chose my tail.” Andarna’s tone shifts defensively. “As is my right upon transition from juvenile to adolescent.”
Okay, are we finally going to get some actual dragon lore? No, we are not. Instead Andarna sits for hours telling her entire life story to the irids while Violet, Ridoc, Tairn, and Ridoc's dragon sit around watching. The irids are clearly not about what Andarna is telling them, but she does not appear to notice. Once she's done telling it, they retreat, clearly pissed by what she's saying.
What we've learned about them: there are hundreds of them, and they're passive-aggressive as fuck. Cool.
The irids confer, then come back to inform them that Violet has failed their test for them.
“It wasn’t a compliment.” His words sharpen. “Our breed is born for peace, not violence like others.” He spares Tairn a single glance before returning to Andarna. “You were left behind as the criterion. The measurement of their growth, their ability to choose tranquility and harmony with all living things. We’d hoped you would return to tell us the humans had evolved, that they had blossomed under the wardstones and no longer used magic as a weapon, but instead you have shown us the opposite.”
You just left a dragon egg behind and hoped it would all be fine?
I mean, I get where the irid are coming from, I guess, but I'm also like...even if they wanted to 'choose peace', the venin are not choosing peace, so the war is inevitable here. I can see how they would think Violet took advantage of Andarna, even though we know that's not the case. Really the fault is with all the adult dragons for not supervising her better.
I don't know, man, I theoretically see where the irid are coming from but we know so little about the Empyrean and the structure of dragon society in Navarre that it's hard to decide how to feel about their argument. Earlier in the series we were told dragon tails are matter of "choice and need", but then the irids are all feathertails because they're non-violent? So does your tail not change until you decide you need a weapon, or is this an unconscious change that dragons undergo in Navarre because they're seeing combat? But we know that dragons in Navarre don't all bond humans, in fact the number that bond has been decreasing, so do all those dragons also have feathertails? Or do they just live in a culture where the tail changing is expected so they all do it?
Also, again, the book keeps telling us that dragons don't obey humans and they make their own decisions and blah blah blah. But suddenly Andarna has no agency in her own life and everything she did is Violet's fault?
This conflict would carry a lot more weight if it had been set up properly in earlier books. For example, if Violet had pressured Andarna to do something dangerous, or if we'd had a scene that put weight on Andarna's tail changing instead of a bunch of jokey scenes about how adolescent dragons are grumpy.
