EQ Readthrough:Issue 14, The Fall

[elf]

Issue 14: The Fall
Questions for this issue:

• How do Dewshine's struggles with recognition compare to Leetah's earlier ones?
• How do Winnowill's lies to her human servants compare to Cutter's earlier lies to humans outside the mountain?
• Was there any point where treating Winnowill differently would've changed the outcome?

Main OQR post with prompt questions
Note: These aren't mandatory questions; they're meta prompts. If you don't care for any of them, or want to tangent from them to some other topic, that's fine too.

Comments

[absque_setentia]

Funny thing, I never really thought about the meaning of the title until I read it again just now, but it does seem appropriate.

I think Dewshine is in a more difficult position than Leetah was, because she has the same need for freedom and an equally horrible first impression of the one she Recognizes, but Tyldak is one of the people who enslaved her tribe and tortured Strongbow.

Something I noticed in this readthrough is how Winnowill seems to view the humans as a sort of pets. I have wondered ever since I first read it what would have happened if the Wolfriders had tied Winnowill up or at least taken her away from the edge, what she would have become if Leetah had really healed her. She would have had a lot to come to terms with, at least. I still love Winnowill as a character, after all these years and even though I was a child when I first read this. She is evil without being ridiculous, her character and personality actually make sense and the more we learn about her past, it makes her seem both more horrifying and more tragic. The revelation in this issue that she was the mother of Two-Edge really shocked me the first time, though in hindsight it was pretty heavily foreshadowed.

I loved this issue, and I can hardly wait to read the rest of the OQ!

[dancing_serpent]

Winnowill's relationship to "her" humans is very intriguing. They are her servants, true, but they do seem to serve out of love, not fear. Also, her thoughts on page two, that the music can make her "smile or weep", were kind of...I don't know. I mean, she's ooooooooold, and she's seen/heard/experienced a lot, and she seems to be bored with most things. That the humans can make her feel honest, real emotions was surprising for me.