So Iāve seen a bit of debate and (understandable) outrage over the fact that along with the Falchion, what remained of Mollyās Summerās Dance sword is at the bottom of the kiln now, too. While itās inherently sad (for both us and Fjord, I imagine) to lose another piece of Molly when we donāt have that many left in the first place, hereās my one overarching thought on the matter:
Molly wouldāve fucking loved it.
Mollymauk Tealeaf, a person so wholly and completely at odds with the concept of ever being truly bound to anything. Who shed all of his past lives like layers of clothing and said: this body is mine, it belongs to me and me alone. If thereās one association we can make with Molly from his time with the Nein, itās between him and freedom. Freedom from his aforementioned past, freedom from legitimate roots in any one place (going from town to town with the carnival? come on), even freedom from the gender binary. Molly. Did. Not. Like. Being. Shackled.Ā
Now flash forward: Molly is dead and Fjord honors him the only way he knows how, by carrying his blade. Physically making it a part of himself. The Falchion and the Summerās Dance are one, because at least Fjord knows the Falchion isnāt going anywhere. Heāll always have a piece of Molly by his side.Ā
But the Falchion has other ties, too. Ones no one couldāve predicted would become so strong. The Neinās grief over Molly came before they ever stole a ship and became pirates, donāt forget. Fjord couldnāt have known when he took on the Summerās Dance how frighteningly manipulative Ukāotoa was. He didnāt even know his patronās name. So while Mollyās memory naturally fades with time, the negative association with Ukāotoa and, most importantly, the sword and all it stands for, amps. All the time theyāre at sea, on Darktow, even to when theyāre in Xhorhas and Fjordās powers are ripped from him. The sword is just another link to a patron that has him bound and chained.
Fjord throwing the Falchion into the kiln was an act of liberation. Thereās no question. He takes the first step in freeing himself from Ukāotoka, sheds Vandrenās accent, and reclaims his own personality, for better or for worse. This is what Molly was all about, in the end. Answering to no one and making no apologies for who you are. If the Summerās Dance, in any form, was some kind of shackle for Fjord I have no doubt Molly wouldāve actively encouraged him to destroy it.
So if Fjord couldnāt honor him by sword, heāll do it by setting himself free in Mollyās name, and hope thatās enough. And I think for that, somewhere, Molly is really fucking proud.
theartofmadeline
areudirty
blakekathryn
