The dust settled with Kris as a new Warder. Trade Deal, episode five of Born to the Blade, returns to the political jockeying that makes Twaa-fei so interesting. The consequences of The Gauntlet begin here. Trade Deal by Malka Older is the fifth episode of Serial Box’s Born to the Blade series.
TL;DR
Trade Deal continues to expand the Born to the Blade universe while opening new story threads. Recommended.
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From the Publisher
This is the fifth episode in the first season of Born to the Blade, an eleven-episode serial from Serial Box. This episode is written by Malka Older.
The warders of Twaa-Fei are reckoning with the biggest upheaval in generations. Kris Denn, champion of Rumika, has won the Gauntlet. Their nation joins the six that formed the Warder’s Circle, dedicated to a fragile peace maintained by diplomacy and duels of blade and magic. The Mertikan Empire and its two vassal nations are now in a minority, but Mertikan Warder Lavinia Junius is not one for licking her wounds. She comes down hard on Oda no Michiko, the junior warder from Kakute whose loss in the final duel of the Gauntlet allowed Kris’ ascent. Michiko continues to be torn between loyalty to her masters and to the ghost of the grandfather she never knew, The Golden Lord, last ruler of a free Kakute. On the winning side, Warder Ojo Kante of Quloo nervously and eagerly awaits a shipment of aerstone from his nation’s newest ally, Rumika. Kris has let slip that the Rumikans have discovered a way to highly refine the mineral that keeps the sky islands afloat, something Quloo desperately needs before it sinks into the deadly mists below.
Story
Kris and Ojo, still the best character, celebrate the Rumikan’s victory, and as Kris moves into the role of bonded and certified warder, they make mistakes that show just how new to diplomacy they are. But Kris is a likable character, eager and naïve. Their apologies to Takeshi, the Ikaran, they injured in the gauntlet are sincere and without ulterior motives while still making an alliance. In episode five, Ojo’s sadness is most apparent. Despite knowing the outcome, he still got caught up in emotions with Penelope, and in this episode, she seems to experience a little sympathy to him. Michiko is forced to face her failure, and once again, we are treated to Lavinia’s icy contempt. Once again, Michiko is caught between her ancestors’ loyal to the empire and those who wish to see Kakute free. In this episode, she begins to see just how the Mertikans view the countries it occupies. Michiko is on her path to being woke. And finally the ending. I once heard someone say that the best ending is a surprise that feels inevitable, and this episode ended that way. I didn’t see it coming, but now I don’t see how it could have ended any other way.
Writing
This episode is written by Malka Older, author of Infomocracy. As expected, the writing quality matched all the others. This was one of the faster moving episodes. For the middle part of a story, it didn’t bog down and made me think that episode four really changed gears on the story. Also, it had a good mix of setting the new balance and working in new bits of storyline to open the world up. Finally, as far as I can remember, we get a bit of science in this world, and it’s nice to see that not everything is magic based. Adechike stepped up in this episode too.
Conclusion
Trade Deal accelerates from episode four into a new phase of the story. While new storylines appear, the main arc of Mertika being colonizing assholes continues. The new storylines open up a wider range of options for the future. Will industrial espionage become part of the story? What exactly are the birthrights? Count me in for finding out.