Fork in the Road
***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 15 of Dragon Haven. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***
I found it hilarious to jump into this section of chapters – directly after my groundbreaking speculations regarding Elderling transformations – only to have it all immediately laid out in the open.
At first, I felt a little silly for framing the possibility of Elderling transformations as some grand prognostication. But the more I sat with it, the more it felt like a testament to Robin’s masterful storytelling.
You see, I hit the point of needing to comment on the hints and signs we’d been fed at almost the exact moment she chose to bring the discussion fully into the open. That is some impeccable timing and buildup on her part.
It’s not that the information was hidden, or that I had cracked the Da Vinci Code. Robin’s brilliance isn’t in covert plotting and shocking reveals. She will often tell you exactly where the story is heading, and still blow your mind on the way there.
Which is what makes this Elderling lore reveal so satisfying.
Elderling transformations happening isn’t the interesting part; it’s the depth and detail that bring this world to life and place Robin among the all-time world-building greats.
So let’s review what we learn (or more accurately, what I can recall in this moment):
- Humans can transform into Elderlings through an intentional process initiated by a dragon, or more incidentally through sustained contact with dragons.
- The change carries significant risk and goes best when facilitated and monitored, by a dragon.
- Relpda has gone a bit rogue by beginning Sedric’s transformation without oversight, to the horror of the other dragons. She’s taking the “I’ll do what I want” approach and essentially tells the others to MYOB.
- There’s an ongoing information war, with wildly varying degrees of who knows what – and who’s willing to share it – across dragons and keepers.
- The risks go both ways: dragons who spend too much time with humans risk hatching Abominations. (Shout out Treasure Island.)
Okay, we know a lot more than that, but those are the highlights rattling around my brain.
And of course, our two predominant transformations – Sedric and Thymara – sit on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Sedric, previously unmarked, is completely unsettled as his transformation begins to take hold. Relpda, meanwhile, is ushering it along full steam ahead.
Conversely, there’s Thymara. It’s not just her love life that’s complicated; her bond with Sintara remains fraught. Thymara’s changes are occurring without Sintara’s intervention or guidance, which leads Mercor to instruct Sintara to take charge of the process- or he will.
This may shock you, but Sintara does not respond well to this directive. She starts a fight, then stomps off.
May we never see a Sintara-Tintaglia confrontation.
Love is in the Air!
From one of this story’s most unique fantasy elements to a trope as old as time, let’s talk romance!
Listen, you can only isolate a group of young-ish people on a boat for so long before nature takes its course. We have officially entered our full Love Boat era (with the literal boat even helping to nudge things along in some cases).
Let’s check in on our couples:
Alise & Leftrin
Alise has a lot to process in these chapters.
First, Sedric drops the bomb that he and Hest have been lovers all along.
Understandably, her world is rocked. She takes time to process, but round two of their clear-the-air conversations makes it worse. She can accept they were together, but she needs to know just how big a fool she’s been. And Sedric has to admit that, yeah, basically everyone knew but her.
Yikes!
And the cherry on top of this shit revelation sundae is Sedric (wrongly!) telling Alise that Leftrin is using her and is actually just trying to sell off dragon parts. (RICH accusation coming from Sedric 😏).
Even more insidious is his use of her blindness regarding him and Hest to cast doubt on her ability to trust her perception of Leftrin. It comes from a place of care, but it’s still low. Sedric- I defend you quite a lot, but watch it, bub!
Alas, true love prevails.
Tarman gives a little dream nudge that sends Alise right back to Leftrin’s bed. This time, fully armed with the knowledge of her sham marriage and life back in Bingtown, she no longer cares who knows.
Everything is about to be out in the open – all hail boat mom and dad!
Sedric & Carson
Sedric and Carson’s turn to lovers was… a lot to digest.
After Part II of “Sedric Blows Up Alise’s Life,” he has officially hit rock bottom. His despair is wrenching, so much so that he decides to take his own life. Luckily, through his connection with Relpda and Carson’s unmatched observational skills, they coordinate to save him.
As Carson thwarts Sedric’s attempt to jump overboard, things pivot almost instantly into romance.
And I have to say- it was a little jarring to still be processing Sedric’s near-suicide and then get this line from Carson:
“He walked his fingers along Sedric’s jawline … He smiled a small smile. ‘Your beard is as soft as a puppy’s fur.'”
Carson. My guy.
Despite my continued misgivings about the dynamic, I’m choosing – cautiously – to move forward and accept Carson as a sort of anti-Hest. I will gingerly co-sign this relationship for now.
(Very quietly holding out hope for a Sedric-Selden end game based on absolutely zero textual evidence that they will ever interact, let alone have chemistry.)
Thymara and Tats
Live look:
And on that note… Musings!
Let’s Talk Tarman…
Allow me to paint a picture.
You are on a river journey searching for the lost dragon promised land. You come to a fork: one path continues the wide, acidic river you’ve been traveling. The other is new, fresh water, different.
Without a second thought, you decide to head up the ol’ status quo path.
Except your sentient, dragon-soul-embedded ship digs his literal feet in the mud and refuses to move. It then proceeds to send dreams of your destination to those onboard.
What could possibly be happening?!?!?!
You’re telling me not one single soul thought, “Hey, perhaps we’re going the wrong way”?
I cannot believe I am about to say this, but I think the leadership on this vessel needs less fucking and more thinking.
C’mon, Cap! Get your (correct) head in the game.
Tarman taking charge and steering everyone toward Kelsingra despite themselves was great. But it wasn’t even the most exciting Tarman moment in this section.
(Side note: Tarman is quietly one of my favorite characters. Love that froggy ship.)
We get the massive revelation that the dragon casing Leftrin used to craft Tarman’s lower appendages belonged to our beloved* Sessurea! 🤯
It feels safe to assume Mercor is indeed Maulkin. And I’ve long wondered whether Sintara might be Sessurea, but the parallels were never overt.
Instead, Sessurea – who never lost faith – has been infused into the dependable stalwart that is our river barge. Wowee!
I both love and hate this for her.
*Yes, we can forget I spent an entire trilogy complaining about the serpents.
Hestorcism Watch 2026
Last post I dubbed Alise and Sedric’s joint detachment from Hest as our Hestorcism.
Forward we march.
Both now have rough-and-ready river men lovers. This line from Sedric made my naming feel particularly apt:
“Hest seemed like a fading ghost. Thoughts of him triggered regret, but not in the way they once had. Sedric regretted not that he had lost Hest, but that he had ever found him.”
Unhinged Horny Moment Award
Gold goes to Carson with his puppy-fur beard comment noted earlier.
But I would like to award silver to Sedric for this line:
“Sedric had watched his hands, the blood on his wrists, the bits of flesh caught under his nails as he worked, and thought of those strong hands on his own body. It had put a shiver up his spine, a thrill of erotic dread.”
I spent way too long contemplating the phrase “a thrill of erotic dread.”
Perhaps these two are better matched than I’m giving them credit for.
Beautiful Prose Moment
Another line that struck me in its gorgeous simplicity:
“The framework that supported Sedric’s self-respect was missing from Carson’s life.”
To write a sentence like that.
Sedric, baby. You know I go to bat for you.
But there were two near-indefensible moments in this stretch:
Exhibit A
His reaction upon realizing Alise and Leftrin took things to the next level:
“She’d slept with the man. Slept with that smelly, ignorant riverman.”
Rich from someone approximately 1.5 chapters from shacking up with his very own smelly riverman.
Exhibit B
After his galley confrontation with Alise:
“He stood to leave and then looked back at the dishes on the table. He should tidy up after himself, stop being the spoiled Bingtown do-nothing he was accused of being. Tomorrow, maybe. Not tonight.”
I know you are at your lowest of lows, but this ain’t the Four Seasons. Clean your fucking mug up.
(Triggered in mom.)
The Realm’s Next Top Elderling is in full swing. Who will emerge gloriously transformed- and whose quest for splendor will fall short?
Let’s find out as we finish out Dragon Haven and pass the midpoint of The Rain Wilds Chronicles.
wizardwordship 