After reading a few books of the Chronicles of Elantra, you look forward to reading about other parts of its world. The previous volumes have tackled the different races (the Barrani in Cast in Courtlight, the Tha'alani in Cast in Secret and the Leontines in Cast in Fury). But they also serve in shedding light in the personal histories of the different characters.
In truth, the previous volumes were more focused about what lead character Kaylin Neya is presently experiencing, as threats of dark magic and shadows force her to use the magic she was chosen to wield. They touch on her past in the fiefs, but the revelations are few and far in between, mostly depending on her willingness to share them.
Cast in Silence is different, though. In this volume, Kaylin is forced to visit a part of her past that she considered her darkest. The time period between running away from the fief of Nightshade after Severn killed their childhood friends and before she climbed the Tower of the Hawks in an attempt to assassinate the Hawklord, Lord Grammarye. When a routine patrol ends up with meeting old friend Morse, Kaylin receives a message to return to the other fief she called home for those six months, Barren, which shares a boundary with the fief of Nightshade. Despite her distaste and because she is officially tasked to do so, she visits with the fief's namesake leader and learn about their troubles with the shadow. The boundary of Barren facing the dreaded Ravellon is weakening and what crosses into Barren are creatures that are surely made of nightmares.
There's a lot of history for Kaylin in Barren, even with the short number of months she lived there. Cast in Silence recounts how her flight from Severn after the deaths of Steffi and Jade led her to the fief, despite the boundaries that separate it from Nightshade and the ferals that hunt in the night. There, she meets Morse who teaches her how to survive and how to fight, as well as bring her into the service of the fieflord Barren. Barren didn't offer much safety nor solace to Kaylin, and learning about her six months residing there isn't an easy read when compared to her other difficult experiences in the past. It was interesting to see how Severn would take the hidden parts of Kaylin's history to light since vengeance against him was a driving factor in her decisions and in the training she partook in. Of the many instances that caused Kaylin to shed her innocence, it is in Barren that she experienced the most unfair of punishments and I now wonder how this would affect her choice in a life partner.
As for Barren's troubles, it becomes clear that becoming a fieflord isn't just about showing everyone that you are the bravest, strongest or smartest. There is an ancient magic that ensures that the fiefs surrounding Ravellon can keep their borders. I've always wondered why Nightshade's castle is magical and it appears that this particular trait isn't exclusive in his fief. In every fief, there stands a structure, which chooses the next lord and adapts its magic to the chosen fieflord. There must always be a fieflord, and the only change that must happen is when that fieflord steps down and another is chosen, or if that fieflord is challenged and defeated. And whoever the fieflord is, he or she must maintain the tower or castle of the fief. In Barren, however, the tower is unoccupied despite calling a man its fieflord.
In the midst of all the revelations of the past and the troubling shadow creatures that beset the fief of Barren, an event occurs to Kaylin, Severn and the dragon Tiamaris that literally takes them out of time. In the midst of a shadow storm, the three are transported to the past, where the fiefs have yet to be established, and Nightshade was not yet the outcaste Barrani and fieflord that he had become. There, they encounter a much younger Nightshade who is all too surprised to find a human girl bearing his mark on her cheek. They witness the creation of the fiefs and the awakenings of the towers, particularly the one now located in Barren, even experiencing first hand how a tower can challenge those who could potentially become its lord.
In this, I found myself impressed with the layered storytelling that author Michelle Sagara offers. Not only do the events in the past offer insight on yet another aspect of the extensive mythology of Elantra, but it makes Nightshade all the more intriguing. One wonders now if he chose to become an outcaste and chose Kaylin as his consort because he encountered her in the past. It gives readers a sense of understanding about his nature (though his full intentions are never clear because... Barrani), when it's obvious that he chose to let his life play out based on that one meeting in the past. With Kaylin finally learning of how their paths have crossed much earlier for Nightshade, it frees him to express his intentions to make her his.
Then, there's Tara. Kaylin has always pushed the envelope when it comes to how things are done normally, especially when it comes to her magic. In visiting the past and entering the tower of Barren as the fiefs are formed, they encounter its consciousness. And because Kaylin has an unexpected effect on anything magical she faces, Tara became different from the other magical structures that make up the fiefs. And therein lies yet another relationship for Kaylin to explore, provided they survive yet another life-threatening event.
Cast in Silence, so far, has become my favorite in the series. Sure, there are ugly parts relating to Kaylin's past, but you end up with a deeper appreciation of how far she had come ever since that fateful night she and Severn completely lost their childhood innocence. And the threat of Ravellon looms ever larger, and in each installment, Michelle Sagara builds up to the revelation of Kaylin's ultimate role in everything. Although, with a few more volumes already and to be published, and not one of them featuring the Aerians just yet, there's more that has to unfold before we get to that revelation. You're not getting any complaints from me, as long as Michelle Sagara keeps up the excellent writing she has done so far.
Happy reading!!Labels: Adventure, Book Series, Books, Cast in Silence, Chronicles of Elantra, Fantasy, Fiction, Michelle Sagara, Reading List
