Dragon Keeper discussion (WARNING: CONTAINS UNMARKED SPOILERS)

[Farseer]

...thought that Ms. Hobb was just suddenly experimenting with monstrously precipitous cliff hangers.

[joost]

Small inconsistency? Sintara is angry with Mercor for revealing her true name. But when she rises from her cocoon, she shouts her name.

[Farseer]

Hmm...possibly she was just so overcome by her emergence, especially after such a prolonged period in serpent form, that she forgot for a moment the power she could have been giving away? Or didn't think there was anything to fear as there were no Elderlings left anyway, though she may have realised her error here once she discovered some of the humans COULD still communicate with dragons? *grasping at straws*

Obviously it went over Thymara's head though, as she was present and able to hear the dragons...she had Sintara's name all along but didn't know it !

[Nuytsia]

I think Sintara actually 'shouted' it only for dragon 'ears'? I don't think humans can understand them unless the dragon actually intends them to (unlike the other way around)

[Farseer]

Very good point, Nuytsia re that dragons can choose for humans NOT to hear.

Hmm...just on that...obviously this shielding can also occur dragon-to-dragon, like Skilled person-to-Skilled person, otherwise the other dragons would have known what had taken place with * Dragon Haven spoiler *

Spoiler

Sedric and Relpda (Relpda couldn't promise that he would keep the secret safe if he couldn't shield his thoughts from the other dragons as well as the humans?)

[Nuytsia]

minor point, i think we are slipping in some unmarked dragon *haven* spoilers ..

[Farseer]

I did first mark it a spoiler but then thought, "No, it happened at the end of DK, so it's ok for this thread" so deleted it !

Does that fix it? Or was it somewhere else you meant?

[Nuytsia]

No that's fine, sorry I feel like the spoiler police!

[Farseer]

No worries at all as I, too, am worried about spoilers! It was one of the main reasons why I wanted to begin a Rain Wilds thread, rather than keep posting about each of the books and trying remember which it first came up in, either DK or DH!

[nessie]

Ow ow ow... I've discovered Sessurea in the Dragon Keeper's books and who she turns into, and it almost made me cry.
At page 433 of Dragon Haven, Kalo says (and I'm just gonna re-type it here) to the other dragons;

"Kelaro I was, and Sessurea was a companion to me." He looked now at Tarman. "I was the stronger, but sometimes he was the wiser." His gaze moved over the gathered dragons. "If we tear that wisdom to pieces and share it amongst us, will any of us have the whole of it? Will any of us know what Tarman seems to know? Open your mouths and your nostrils, dragons, there is more than one way for a dragon to communicate. Or a serpent."

So I think Sessurea is the coccoon that Leftrin found washed up inbetween the trees and that he cut up to make Tarman's legs and tail. It's so sad, and yet brilliant. My guess is that Robin Hobb did it because now we, too, feel the loss that occurs when a dragon's coccoon is used to make a liveship. The only comfort is, I guess, that Sessurea was dead when Leftrin found him.