okay, you wanna know something I’ve wanted to break down for a while?? That moment when Ren “sees” all of Lup’s history. That’s one heck of a scene to talk about, so I’m just going to break it down line by line.
This is her response: a memory of a flat disc—a plane—swallowed by a living storm, a hunger eating it from within. There are seven on the ship, escaping through the reaches of the universe.
Obviously, this is a throwback to the famous Seven Birds speech, which is a little funny to think about considering a similar prophecy is given later in the chapter. The trick here is that Ren can’t learn everything explicitly because looking too deep into the workings of the universe will make her lose her mind and probably die (like Maureen). You can kind of see this restriction apply throughout the rest of the paragraph as I try to make it clear to the reader what is going on while keeping it vague enough that Ren won’t lose her mind.
All the places they’ve seen— planes of people, planes of flames, planes orbiting each other in a dance, planes of places never to be seen, planes of everything, planes of nothing—and it’s too much—the picture changes.
You get this little moment here building up the idea that knowing about so many realities will ruin someone’s mind. I remember reading a fan theory somewhere that the reason this information is so damaging is that it was erased by the Voidfish, but I personally like the drama of a Lovecraftian, forbidden knowledge much more.
There are seven, but there are twins. One a philosopher, guarded behind the fabrications of his thoughts. Dressed in red. All in red.
Naturally, this is a reference to Taako. He’s been the common link between Ren and Lup, so he’s used as a means to anchor Ren. I refer to him as a philosopher here because that is the part of him Ren understands the most. She doesn’t view Taako mainly as a skilled wizard or transmutation expert, but as a man who thinks deeply about the world.
“Fabrications” was a very purposeful word choice on my part since it not only establishes Ren’s understanding of all the lies Taako tells himself, but it’s related to “fabric,” which firmly links his idiosyncrasies with his uniform and therefore his role on the Starblaster. This is carried through with the idea of him being dressed in red, and “all in red.” When someone is in all red, it alludes violence and guilt. Red is the color of blood. It’s anger and hatred. Taako is a part of the Red Robes, and as such is a part of a horrible history of heroes who failed to save the day. And Ren may not understand that last part fully, but she understands that Lup is linking their work to save the universe as a horrible task.
At his side is a woman. She’s smart, she’s beautiful, she’s dead, she’s alive, she’s dead, she’s fighting, she’s escaping, she’s laughing, and she’s dead—
And finally, we have Lup. If this was a movie, this right here would be a montage of scenes from the Stolen Century. I like the repetition of “she’s dead” the most since it not only emphasizes the nature of the cycles, but also her later state of undeadness.
she’s in love, and the beat of a passionate heart lies in a man who twists his wedding ring when he’s worried, who’s as stuck in a loop as she.
And here’s Barry. His wedding ring is a constant symbol of his longing for Lup, as stated fairly clearly here.
One thing I wanted to do that I feel like I failed at is do a little wordplay between “loop” and Lup.” The cycles are like time loops, but to say that he’s “stuck in a loop” also asks the reader to note that he’s stuck the idea of Lup. Now that I’m going back to this paragraph, I think I could have done a lot more with the wordplay, but maybe the way it is now (that is, subtle) works to it’s advantage. There’s nothing worse than a writer smacking you over the head with an obvious literary device.
She’s living, then she’s dead, then she’s both at once—nothing and everything in a world that makes no sense.
Now Lup is showing that she’s a lich, though the exact concept is somewhat lost on Ren. Saying she’s “nothing and everything” not only draws attention to the inherent paradox that being a lich embodies, but also the existential irony of Lup’s existence. She’s so important to Barry and Taako, but as of right now, she’s literally living a questionable existence.
But there’s guilt. The plane of guilt. And war. And life. And freedom. And guilt. And death. And she’s lost—trapped by a metaphor. An allegory, a fitting defeat. Trapped and yearning, but now she’s here, and she’s asking, she’s pleading, she’s—
And we finally end with her arrival to Faerun and how the Grand Relics affected her. She created a plan that would give her family freedom from the cycles, but in doing so, created so much catastrophe. In a way, being trapped by the umbra staff is a fitting “punishment.” She trapped the world with her weapons, and now one of her weapons have imprisoned her.
Of course, as I’m sure I mentioned in my notes for the chapter, the last line is in reference to the motif of the phrase “she is Lup.” Her greatest act of rebellion against the world is her very existence. Bu simply being herself, she is a symbol of strength. She endows her husband and brother with the courage to do so much. She is Lup, and that fact within itself is incredible.
And that’s all I have to say about this one scene. I’m sure none of it is nothing new, but it was still pretty fun to go over again. Thanks for asking!
