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Etherealki/Summoners
Fjerda is a neighboring country and enemy of Ravka.
Fjerda Quotes in Shadow and Bone
The Shadow and Bone quotes below are all either spoken by Fjerda or refer to Fjerda. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 18 Quotes
He wasn’t at all shocked to hear of the contempt with which most Grisha regarded the King. Apparently, the trackers had been grumbling more and more loudly amongst themselves about the King’s incompetence.
“The Fjerdans have a breech-loading rifle that can fire twenty-eight rounds per minute. Our soldiers should have them, too. If the King could be bothered to take an interest in the First Army, we wouldn’t be so dependent on the Grisha. But it’ll never happen,” he told me. Then he muttered, “We all know who’s running the country.”
Related Characters:
Alina Starkov (speaker), Malyen “Mal” Oretsov (speaker), The Darkling, The King
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
283
Explanation and Analysis:
While Mal and Alina head north to Tsibeya, they discuss that few if any people—Grisha or laypeople—think the King is doing a good job managing the country, particularly the military. As Mal explains, other countries with which Ravka is fighting have weapons that are far more advanced. This, of course, means they’re better equipped and can kill more Ravkans—something that Mal and presumably even the Grisha would expect the King to take issue with. Yet the Darkling has previously described the King as a “child” who’s interested only in fine furnishings and surrounding himself with beautiful women. The people fighting his many wars, like Mal, don’t matter at all to him. This is partially a class thing; the King and even the Darkling care about wealthy, powerful people, not the peasants who join the army to fight and die in droves. Further, Mal highlights how the King’s disinterest in the First Army (which is comprised entirely of non-Grisha soldiers) means that the First Army is dependent on the Grisha and their various powers for protection and the upper hand. Better weapons would put the First Army in a better position to fight without help—but no one, the King nor the Darkling, is interested in actually helping the troops on the ground.
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Fjerda Term Timeline in Shadow and Bone
The timeline below shows where the term Fjerda appears in Shadow and Bone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...refuses: there’s been a mistake and she doesn’t want to go. Ivan hisses that soon, Fjerdans and Shu Han assassins will know who she is—and they’ll try to kill her. She...
(full context)
...if Alina is a Sun Summoner, she can open the Fold or maybe destroy it—so Fjerda and the Shu Han will be itching to kill her. Alina just gapes at Fedyor....
(full context)
...the soldier can finish, someone shoots him in the back. Fedyor mutters that it’s the Fjerdans. He gives Alina a knife and leads everyone out of the coach to defend it....
(full context)
Alina shouts and the Darkling turns toward her. Her Fjerdan attacker, though blinded, says he can still kill Alina. The Darkling attempts to bargain with...
(full context)
...says he hardly notices anymore. She’s also extremely disturbed by what he did to the Fjerdan. But he takes off a glove and puts a hand on the back of her...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...The Darkling and Alina head for the Little Palace. He says the herd is in Fjerda and then says Alina isn’t useless. Alina insists she is; she’s only good for “midnight...
(full context)
Chapter 15
...he can use the Fold as a weapon and expand it. He’ll push it into Fjerda and Shu Han if people don’t submit to him. It’s clear to Alina that Baghra...
(full context)
Chapter 18
...hear that most Grisha don’t like the King; the trackers and soldiers are also annoyed. Fjerdans have far superior weapons, and Ravkan soldiers should have better guns—but the King takes no...
(full context)
...fingers in the light and then says that Mikhael and Dubrov were both killed in Fjerda. To Alina’s surprise, Mal continues that they’d hunted the stag all the way to the...
(full context)
Chapter 22
...to the Darkling and they all walk to the drydocks. On the sandskiff, Alina meets Fjerdan ambassadors, a delegation from Shu Han, and an envoy from the King. The Darkling clearly...
(full context)
...passengers on the skiff. The message is clear: he could ravage the Shu Han or Fjerda tomorrow, if he wants. When the envoy says the King won’t stand for this, the...
(full context)
