A Puzzling Conversation Between the King and his Captain

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

I recently noticed a particular exchange in The King of Attolia that doesn't make very much sense. At least not yet.

     "This could have been one of you, though," said Eugendies, running a finger along a short white ridge near the hollow of his shoulder. He looked at Teleus. "Was it?"
     The captain shook his head.
     "You transferred him? Are you worried about my taste in revenge?'
     "Should I be?" Teleus asked bluntly.
     "Not for that," said the king.

             page 378-379 of The King of Attolia

     It seems whoever gave Eugendies this scar on his shoulder is an Attolian guardsmen or palace employee of some sort that Teleus transferred to protect. Perhaps, it happened when Eugendies was held prisoner in Attolia, because he asks "Was it?" like he does not know the identity of the person. I went through the beginning of The Queen of Attolia, and can't find any person in particular who was mentioned striking/wounding Eugendies on the shoulder severaly enough to leave a lasting scar.

     So the questions are...
Who is this person, exsactly?
Why did they hit/wound Eugendies on the shoulder?
Why would Teleus want to protect them?
Also, Eugendies says he wouldn't take revenge for "that".  Is this a reference to the scar or something else?


     I can't figure this one out on my own, and would like some opinions.

     What's going on here?

Comments

[coyul.livejournal.com]

In The Thief, when he was captured, I think.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Oh, you mean when he was injured, but I thought he was stabbed through the chest.
Was Teleus the captain leading the party that captured the Magus's group? Was it Teleus, maybe?

[coyul.livejournal.com]

I believe it was the shoulder. Anywhere in the chest would more likely be lethal than not. I doubt it was Teleus because he transferred the guy that did it. I suppose he could have transferred himself, but that seems unlikely.

[kaijuu-chan.livejournal.com]

It WAS lethal. He didn't die because he had Hamiathes gift.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought happened too. It was the Gift's ability to give its holder immortality that saved him.

Kitsune_rain started a whole discussion about that. It can be viewed under the Hamaithes's Gift search tag.

[keestone.livejournal.com]

The sword went in near the middle of the back and came out near the arm pit, so the scar could be looked at as on the chest or by the shoulder, in front.

Teleus is in charge of troop disposition now whether he was in charge of that particular party or not (which I doubt, or the conversation would probably be more personal). It's his job to keep the guard running as smoothly as possible, and that definitely includes keeping potential problems out of the way, and it makes sense to view a guard member who nearly killed the new ruler as a potentially very serious problem.

Gen has the ability to be rather vindictive, if not quite in a way that Teleus understands at this point (earrings? Ornon's sheep?), and Teleus doesn't know that Gen's had nightmares about the soldier he killed. If you look at the situation with Dite without full knowledge of what Gen was doing and why, it can look like the King is banishing him as revenge for causing the king embarrassment.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

That does make sense.

Thank you.

[pigrescuer.livejournal.com]

lol, I think you just about summed up everything I could have commented. ^_^

[readsintrees.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I always read that line as referring to when he gets stabbed from behind by an Attolian in The Thief.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

Also, Gen would never take revenge for the wound because it was done in the service of Attolia.

[keestone.livejournal.com]

I don't think a wound received in battle would ever be something he'd think to take revenge for. The person who was responsible for there being a battle, on the other hand. . . .

He didn't think to take revenge against the torturer who cut off his hand; he does want revenge against Nahuseresh.

[irenengen4ever.livejournal.com]

As Gen said though, he was almost "safely dead" until Nahuseresh persuaded Irene to change her plans.

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Reading your excellent point I realized all over again just how complicated Gen is.

[keestone.livejournal.com]

I love Gen. He's such a fascinating character!

[tearoha.livejournal.com]

He did think to take revenge.
'I nearly had them killed, every single one of them, garotted, gutted, and dead.' - p. 296, KoA

But he didn't, and I agree with Philia as to why.

[keestone.livejournal.com]

Good point, but aargh. I can't remember the context of that line. Is it related to the more recent aggravation in the dungeons? I read that as him being pushed nearly past the limits of his temper at that point, not exactly revenge, and I think a lot of it has to do with the "smug condescension" of the prison keeper, which is not a simple matter of a soldier following his orders. If they take malicious pleasure in it a la the prison guard, it's not quite the same thing, and that exchange seems to carry the weight of past history.

He does have a nasty temper, but one of the fun things about the series for me is how we see his learning to control his temper in The Thief and the subsequent effects in further books -- his growing into more control with greater responsibilities, where expressing his temper could do much more damage.

I basically agree with Philia, but I think the point is more that he is usually well able to see who is ultimately responsible for things and he doesn't begrudge people for following orders.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

*agrees*

Gen would never take revenge against somebody who was just doing their job.

[beatlelove927.livejournal.com]

I thought it was someone who shot at him or something while he was caprured in QoA, getting his hand chopped off. But now I'm not sure.

[laya-aria.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it's the sword wound from The Thief. I absolutely loved that part, by the way. It's so Eugenides. Anything that happens to him when he's working as the Thief is always something he takes in stride.