I agree with all of Mil-tech points here.
Note that Thalmayar was willing - *eager* - to put
Jathmar, and Shaylar too, into handcuffs, despite
Shaylar being a woman with burns on her skull.
He also refused to hear a verbal report from Jasek,
and ignored all of J's advice.
All this *before* he was wounded.
He showed bad temper whenever we saw him!
Then there was 500 Grantyl's refusal to send recon
gryphons to Klian at the Front.
I have one little quibble: Garlath's presence in Jasek's
company might be a part of mul Gurthak's attempt to
use vos Hoven as a spy on Jasek. The two were transferred
into that company and platoon at the same time, and
that seems to have been mul G.'s doing ... somehow. Of
course, that reflects on mul G.'s choice of agents, as
well as the level of agents available for him to choose.
Mul G. is not nearly as good as he thinks he is.
Were he a genius, he would have realized that the Very
Best Way to embarrass all Andara would have been to
make the Peace that Andarans had been ruining!
Had he ordered Jathmar & Shaylar returned to their
people, and Jasek kept at the Front for a Formal Trial
by both Arcanans and Sharonans, and especially had he
gone to the Front to take personal command,
Then Andara would have been embarrassed indeed,
especially the Olderhams,
And he would have won many Brownie Points for Mylatha!
Instead ...
HTM
Mil-tech bard wrote:
Garlath's incompetence and Thalmayar predilection to torture were not the result of Gurthak's corruption efforts.
The Second Andaran Scout Brigade whose platoon and company got chewed up at HellsGate was the hereditary command of the Dukes of Garth.
Garlath was the younger cousin of a Andaran Baron holding his position in the Andaran Military -- despite manifest incompetence -- via shear nepotism.
Likely said Baron was one under the current Duke of Garth.
Thalmayar's torture of his Sharonan healers has very little to do with Gurthak's corruption efforts and everything to do with his unhinged mind being given the opportunity to vent.
That both men were able to maintain their positions in the elite Second Andaran Scout Brigade says a great deal about the issue of nepotism and connections being more important for promotion than demonstrated skill in the Arcanian Military.
And I will add one more thing.
The key tell of the story about Arcanian military dysfunction is the way the Transport Dragon pilot Salmeer described his systematic poor treatment by Andaran junior officers in the Arcanian military (Page 201 Hells Gate).
"I've answered the call of more than a few commanders of 100 sir, and I'll tell you plain -- You're the first who's given a good godsdamn about the opinions of a Transport pilot."
Junior officers in a military where Dragons are both the primary weapon and transportation treating any dragon pilot with disdain for their knowledge is just mind blowing.
That plain Transport Dragon pilots don't seem to need a gift to pilot their beasts seems to play a part in this.