Tain Shir, Bane of Wives [Einherjar]

A juggernaut in more ways than one, from Seth Dickinson's Masquerade novels

Note for readers: After seven months of writing two posts per week, I'm dialing back to one again, to help focus on new writing projects, recover my reading habits and reconnect with my passion for writing these. Thanks as always for reading <3

Masquerade

"Look at Tain Shir and you cannot fathom the name behind the cartouche. You cannot extract her reasons. You only see why men turn to religion: for hope that there are gods to oppose her.” ― Seth Dickinson, The Monster Baru Cormorant

Toward the end of last summer I wrote a trio of posts about The Masquerade novels by Seth Dickinson, looking at how they explore the horrors large and small of colonialism and empire. These remain some of my favourite books in the world, not just for their underlying message but also for their fascinating worldbuilding, tense narrative and powerful characterization.

This is also an 'Einherjar' piece, and something of a follow-up to my post about Commander Wake from Tamsyn Muir's The Locked Tomb. You can find a longer explanation there, but suffice to say that these articles are focused on characters whose physical and narrative presence warps the world around them; characters who give badass a new name.

(Consider checking back on my older posts for explanations of some Masquerade terms – spoilers ahead for the series.)

Tain Shir, by Marceline2174

Predecessor & Foil

It would be impossible to appreciate Tain Shir's presence in The Masquerade without her connection to Baru Cormorant, our main protagonist in the novels. After all, Baru is now walking the path that Shir previously tread and abandoned. She is constantly afraid that she'll misstep and end up like Shir – if the older woman doesn't kill her first.

Tain Shir was born in Aurdwynn and, like Baru, grew up seeing the influence of Falcresti colonization work its tendrils into her homeland. At one point she came into contact with Falcresti merchant Cairdine Farrier and after years of correspondence, during which she grew increasingly frustrated with Aurdwynni capitulation to Falcrest, she left to become his protégé.

Like Baru, Shir ultimately helps Farrier and Falcrest quell multiple nascent rebellions as part of her journey to becoming a cryptarch – the 'rulers through secrets' behind the symbolic Throne of Falcrest. Yet she abandons this goal for unknown reasons during her time in the deep south, around the time she makes contact with the Cancrioth, becoming uniquely unmastered in this world.

So Shir spends the second and third novels taunting and hunting Baru, frustrated to see her young successor so completely ensnared by Farrier – and all the more so for the fact that Baru thinks she's free by virtue of having killed the hostage Falcrest held over her. That hostage being Tain Hu, Shir's adored cousin and Baru's lover.

Shir and Baru are connected not only by their tutelage under Cairdine Farrier and resulting knowledge and agency, but also by their love for a dead woman, their culpability in subjugating their homelands on behalf of Falcrest and the physical, mental and emotional toll their journeys have taken on them. Not to mention both women's sexuality (though Shir might be bisexual, where Baru is lesbian), repressed by Falcrest and scarring them in different ways.

Tain Shir and Baru, by furniture_piece

Bane of Wives

As I said, Shir is uniquely unmastered – she's the terrifying exception that proves the rule: everyone (else) has something they care about and which can be used against them, be it people, places or ideas.

“Tain Shir walks the deck of RNS Sulane between the bombs and incendiaries and steel-tipped barbs. A weapon among weapons but she alone is free. The tragedy of the knife is the hilt. The tragedy of the crossbow is the trigger. Shir has neither. She cannot be gripped nor fired. She is unmastered. The sailors are rude with her. So be it. Etiquette is the domain of those whose power is conditional upon the respect of others, and Shir is unconditional. If she drifted alone in the void beyond the moon or if she walked among the monarchs of the ancient Cheetah Palaces she would not be altered in her capabilities or her intentions, for not one truth of her resides within a relationship to any other thing.” ― Seth Dickinson, The Monster Baru Cormorant

This also sets her in stark opposition to the idea of 'trim' (luck, connection to other people and the world) held by people among the Oriati Mbo in this world. They believe that all things and souls are bound together, not completely unlike how the Falcresti believe there is always a way to leverage someone into compliance. Shir rejects it all, acting solely for her own motivations and untouchable by the social ties that bind everyone else. This is also how she earned her cognomen: Shir was personally responsible for leading so many Oriati men to their deaths as part of her work for Farrier that she became known for turning wives into widows – thus 'Bane of Wives'.

But that's only the narrative/societal part of what makes her so terrifying. She's also associated with more than one ancient mystery of this world, having previously associated with the Cancrioth (I can't help but wonder if she's carrying one of their tumours or did so in the past) and following the practices of the all-but-forgotten Jellyfish Eaters. We don't know too much about the Ykari cults native to Aurdwynn or the practices of the destroyed Maia peoples, but I'd be confident in saying that Shir has sought power wherever she could possibly find it. On the modern front, she clearly understands Farrier's tactics and also has knowledge of his rival Hesychast's secret weapon in the Clarified.

Of course, I wouldn't be writing about any of this if not for Shir's physical prowess. The Masquerade's cast is filled with characters who thrive on the belief that the pen is mightier than the sword; it's hard to think of a single fantasy character who couldn't best our hero Baru in combat. This makes it all the more intimidating to see Shir, who is just as intelligent and educated as the rest, lead from the front with training, muscle and grim purpose.

Beyond that, I'll let Shir's (re-)introduction speak for itself:

“My niece,” Yawa said. “It can’t be her!” Apparitor wailed. “She went into the jungle! She never came back!” ... From the burning rushes rose a single red-masked Masquerade marine. A faceless and dripping figure with a heavy crossbow. Water beaded on the oils of her equipment. Knives glimmered in sheathes of wax. Behind her mask her eyes were a crow-feather shine. She raised a finger that gleamed with steel knucklebraces. She pointed to Baru. The smoke grenade in her fist burped and gushed chemical mist. With the ease of a drunken dockworker embracing a buddy at the bar she took the nearest sailor in her arms and slashed his throat and left the grenade stuffed in his collar to float with his corpse. The second man in her reach screamed and pulled a dive knife. She shot him in the face with her wet storm crossbow, as casually as a cat biting off a bird’s bright-feathered head. He fell like a comic, his feet walking on out from under him, his broken skull snapped back. ― Seth Dickinson, The Monster Baru Cormorant

Tain Shir biting a Cormorant, by Hivemire

Comparison & Close

Setting Tain Shir next to The Locked Tomb's Commander Wake (my previous pick as an Einherjar) reveals a few interesting parallels. Both are grimly determined women who warped the world around them long before the current narrative. Both are connected to the protagonist (Baru/Harrow) through the manipulative male authority figure (Farrier/Jod) in addition to ties of blood and love (Tain Hu/Gideon).

Both are nigh-unstoppable killing machines who must be fled until circumstances change at the last moment. Yet both are also villains of circumstance, ultimately sharing the protagonist's belief that the current corrupt system needs to be overturned.

The greatest difference is of course that while both series are trilogies awaiting their final fourth entry, Tain Shir yet survives while Commander Wake seems to be permanently destroyed. Shir even seems to have been partly won over toward the end of the third book, but remains enough of a wild card that I could see her playing any number of different roles in the final entry. If and when she dies, I'm sure it'll be just as spectacular as Wake's death at the hands of God.

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I know this wasn't quite as deep a reflection as most of my recent pieces, but again I'm hoping that modifying my schedule will help me reconnect with some more of that passion and excitement.

Thanks as always for reading and until next time <3