D. T. Kane reads chapter 29 of his epic fantasy fiction novel, The Acktus Trials, and discusses the chapter with his audience.
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Parts II and III of The Spoken Books Uprising also now available!
Part II, Declaimer’s Discovery: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09R18NZ5G/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
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Map of Oration: https://dtkane.com/resources/map-of-oration/
Characters in this Chapter:
Baztian (Baz): Our main character
Madame Scrivener Tessa: Leader of the Citiless (Keepers)
Rox: Deliritous’s Harbour (bodyguard)
Ehma: Tessa’s daughter
Trunnel: Hellar’s Speaker
Below is a copy of my script/notes for the episode, not a verbatim transcription:
PERSONAL UPDATE
Welcome back to the Book Club. Today is Monday, June 27, 2022 as I record this, Episode 24. A rare morning recording, as I’m just back from a weekend trip visiting family and want to make sure this episode gets out as usual on Monday.
Not too much in the way of a personal update this week. I’m slowly working my way through the manuscript of Part IV of The Spoken Books Uprising, Declaimer’s Stand. Aiming to have it ready for ARC readers by beginning of August, with a release date of September 16, 2022. Stay tuned for more details!
ANAYLIS CH. 29
Little Baz
So Baz wakes up laying on one of the tables in the Sanctum, safe once again from the darkness of the peninsula. Rox is there with him, telling him to take it easy because he was “in the Dark Ones’ own grasp.” Interesting that Rox grasps exactly what happened to Baz even though he hadn’t been present for Tessa’s story about the Dark Ones being imprisoned in Under Tome.
Did you get all warm and fuzzy when Baz tells Rox that he can call him Baz? Finally, the change we’ve been waiting for in our hero here–it took a near-death experience, but finally he’s warmed up to Rox. And that’s before we learn that Rox was the one who saved Baz; as Tessa says “he sprinted onto the platform and brought you back.”
Tessa can’t believe Baz is alive and well, as she says she’s seen ten people go out onto the platform over the years, and they’ve all either been annihilated like Marla was or come back raving mad, speaking in a multitude of different voices. Tessa’s also flummoxed as to how Rox survived, but Rox tells us it’s because he’s from Enigma: “The Dark Ones speak in Lies. Lies hold no power over a true Enigman.”
Two interesting points here: (1) Again, Rox seems familiar with the Dark Ones, not surprised at all that they’re present here in Under Tome; (2) Does he actually have some sort of special powers that make him immune to the Dark Ones’ touch?
How did Rox get free of Marla’s spell? Well, Ehma released him, apparently. So she’s not all bad–she recognized that Baz was trying to help her and freed Rox because she heard the Stop Rune to the spell. Baz is actually embarrassed because Ehma says he was trying to save “all of us,” whereas Baz says he was just trying to keep Ryle from slitting Ehma’s throat. Maybe that’s true, but it still seems Baz isn’t giving himself enough credit here.
Speaking of the roots that had held Rox, what happened to Retch, Marla’s Speaker? Well, apparently Trunnel cast an Influencing spell on him, causing him to run after Marla and leap into the dark abyss. It seems Trunnel drew some inspiration from Baz earlier, when Baz told him to stop licking Hellar’s boots–he took that as a wakeup call to start respecting himself. This isn’t the last time we’ll see this–Baz has an effect on people that even he doesn’t grasp, but despite his abrasiveness, he nonetheless draws people to him. We’ve seen that with Rox, Ehma, and now Trunnel.
Trunnel has accepted Tessa’s offer to stay in Tome and help her, the same offer she proposed to Baz before Marla and Hellar showed up. Baz briefly considers accepting it as well, as it would free him from Torchsire’s slavery. But, he realizes he’d just be trading one master for another.
We need to talk
So Baz and Tessa go off to Tessa’s study to negotiate. Tessa might not admit it, but she knows Baz is right when he tells her that she owes him. He did just save her daughter, after all, and potentially all of Under Tome from being exposed.
They enter her study which is full of a multitude of Spoken Books, along with a desk and only one chair–Baz has to stand. Before Baz can say anything, Tessa reveals that she knows Baz can Read, because it’s only ever been individuals skilled in both Speaking and Reading (i.e., Orators) who come back from beyond the peninsula. Raving mad, but they come back. Notice how Tessa looks upset here for a moment speaking of individuals who have gone out onto the peninsula? It seems that’s a sore subject for her, but we won’t learn any more about that until Book 2.
Also implicit here is that Baz should be raving mad now, but somehow he isn’t. Why? For now, we don’t get any explanation.
Next we get some explanation from Tessa: The Citiless obviously don’t call themselves that–they are “The Keepers of What Remains, protecting what’s left of the Great Library and continuing the Scribes’ great work.”
There’s also a subset of the Keepers called “The Seekers of Transcendence.” The Citiless who was caught and tortured at the beginning of the novel was one of these Seekers. What are they seeking? A prophecy that will tell how the Speakers will rise up against the Readers (Hoarders of Words). This prophecy is called the Declaimer’s Transcendence, and all but the last line of it was lost during the Second Burning: “He’ll speak the words to set us free.”
Baz laughs, because that is the same line the tortured Citiless cried out, and we later learned from Tax that it’s a line from a children’s bedtime story, the tale of the girl who ripped out that scrap from the Enigma’s book of prophecies before fleeing the Second Burning. But Tessa tells us it is no story–that little girl was her ancestor, and she is carrying on the work of searching for the Transcendence.
Would you really keep a promise to the Oppressed who owns you?
Tessa then immediately shifts topics, asking Baz if he really intends to keep his promise to Deliritous. Why is she asking this? Well, she appears to be testing him, because she wants a promise out of him too and wants to see how trustworthy he is (apparently saving her daughter wasn’t enough). Baz says he does, and when pressed as to why, we get this rather eloquent response from him:
I guess it’s just my own little piece of rebellion. I can’t have freedom, but that doesn’t mean I can’t choose to do what’s right. That’s what makes me different from them. I choose to be better.
That seems to satisfy Tessa, as she makes Baz an offer: He goes free and in exchange, he agrees to become a Seeker and carry out a quest for her. Baz groans, of course: he’s not interested in going on any more adventures, but he has to get out of Tome.
Tessa points out that Baz seems pretty good at staying alive. Baz calls it “pure luck,” but maybe his seeming innate ability to gather allies to him has something to do with it?
Why does Tessa want Baz as a Seeker? Well, he’s a rare opportunity–a Speaker from a Triumvirate city. He can go places Tessa’s other Seekers can’t. He can get into a Library, and she has on good authority–Eromer the Book Dragon–that a copy of the lost prophecy is in a Library. Leamina Library, in the city of Fortune. Go to Fortune, find the prophecy, bring it back to Tome.
Baz loses it a bit here–he’ll surely die if he tries to do all that. But what choice does he have? He agrees, after insisting that she free Rox as well. Baz looking out for his new buddy.
What’s a Declaimer?
Naturally, Baz asks what a Declaimer is. It’s a person who can draw on the power of the elements without a Spoken Book. They’re very rare, but not a fiction. That’s what the prophecy will tell: How to find such a person who will lead the Speakers to freedom.
I’ll need one of these Spoken Books
Baz nearly forgets arguably the most important part of his bargain, but salvages it at the last moment, tell Tessa he’ll need to add one of her Spoken Books to the bargain. Initially she refuses, but then Baz offers to let her keep the Book Dragon blood in exchange for a Book. He guesses–correctly–that it can be used as ink for writing Books. And this perhaps suggests why some hunt Book Dragons–their blood is a valuable resource.
And with that, the deal is struck: Baz gets out of Tome with a Book in exchange for the blood and going on Tessa’s quest. One adventure has come to its conclusion, but Baz has already been thrust into another.
CONCLUSION
Homework: Next week we’ll read Chapter 30 and that will be the entire episode. A short one, as I have a wedding to attend. We’ll discuss it the following week.
Listener Question: What is your day job?
Quote:
“Aslan is a lion―the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he―quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Many of us trick ourselves into thinking it’s safety we want. Safety is status quo. Safety is comfort. Safety is security. We’re all told we want these things, and that we’re “successful” if we achieve them.
But undertake some self-reflection. What is it you really want? How far are you from it? What will it take to get there? If you’re like most people, the answers to those latter two questions are likely “far” and “a lot.”
Well, you won’t get to that distant horizon by playing it safe in secure comfort. Instead, subject yourself to some purposeful discomfort and watch as you grow!
Until next time, this has been D. T. Kane’s Epic Fantasy Book Club.
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