Die Story nimmt endlich deutlich an Fahrt auf. Es werden einige Hintergründe, die in Band 1 und 2 schon angeteasert wurden, eindeutiger erklärt, was super ist. Gleichzeitig wird immer deutlicher, was für ein schieß Rotzstaat der Kirchenstaat Derwin ist, aber was soll man auch erwarten :D wenn die Kirche an der Macht ist. Aber das Thema wird sicherlich noch sehr, sehr viel wichtiger und sehr viel schlimmer auszuhalten, weil ich jetzt schon aggro auf diese Spacken war. Also wunderbar erzählt.
All those scattered plot threads are finally starting to gather into an actual story, and I'm getting intrigued!
I'm not huge on past lives storylines, so I wasn't sure how I'd felt about those hints, or why they were even necessary. But it's beginning to make sense within the worldbuilding. It's still unclear who Cardinal Brixton was previously - he has to be reincarnated, since Sol is a thousand year old half-dragon, which is pretty rare - but both he and Sol have had close ties to Ian, and have possibly gone through this cycle many times.
Much to Brixton's frustration, Ian is choosing Sol again, with a bond that's too deep to be conquered even by Brixton getting to him first and tying all Ian's loyalty to him. When Sol shows up, Ian's still drawn to him without understanding why he instinctively trusts this stranger from an enemy nation, and why he feels so complete with him.
Ian sacrificing himself to help Sol's escape...sort of worked, I guess. All the political stuff is still kind of hand-wavily explained, but the important part is that it sets up a lot of really good emotional moments, including scenes with Brixton that made me like him more. I had definitely been assuming he was the villain, but he's just been building up power to keep Ian safe...only to have the dragon king whisk him away.
Unfortunately, the scenes with Ian finding out who Sol is, and deciding to trust him again, were skimmed over too quickly. I get that he's Sol'd long lost dragon knight or something (will he be able to bond with a dragon again? that'd be neat?), but hopefully he doesn't lose his own personality and sense of self when he recovers his memories.
Still. A devoted relationship that spans nations and lifetimes, and a kingdom full of dragons...I'm looking forward to more. Also curious how Ian was involved in the creation of Derwin, and if there ever was a timeline where he'd chosen Brixton over his king.