Chapter 10 - The Oath-Taking

In her introductory remarks for this chapter, I thought the escape plan from the castle that Claire had devised wasn't too bad: she had a distraction so her presence wouldn't be missed (the Gathering), she had squirreled away some food for the journey, she had picked out a horse. But how in the heck would she know where she was going to get back to Craigh na Dun? She had been unconscious for part of the journey after she got knocked out by one of her "rescuers" from Captain Randall. But, in fairness, I suppose it would be an acceptable risk, facing the potential of continued oversight by the MacKenzie clan.

My beloved USAF unit badge.
A bright red horse.
On a flying bulldozer.
With an M-16 rifle.
Yup, it doesn't get any better than that.

After Jamie and Claire are found out and brought back in to the castle for the Gathering, I was surprised to see how early on in the story we also learn Jamie's clan motto "Je Suis Prest." Actually, while I Am Ready is a great motto, I kind of liked the MacKenzie motto of I Shine, Not Burn. Obviously I could have no knowledge of how these may continue to come into play in further chapters, but I thought of the irony of how these types of fraternal traditions have come down to us in our day and age with military units all the way through to bikers clubs. The Air Force units I belonged to, the 819th and 820th Red Horse combat engineers squadrons, had the mottos of: Can Do, Will Do, Have Done, and Lead, Follow, or Get the Hell Out of the Way. Kinda hard to fit that on a badge.


I have to say, the way the oath-taking scene is presented, the tension had me squirming just a bit to see just how Jamie was going to try to get out of taking the MacKenzie oath without violating his own clan's honor. At least through his pledge to Colum, he demonstrated his faithfulness and loyalty. And in the process, I learned a new term: "quaich", the cup from which they were drinking. I love learning new things, and as much as I enjoy a good hard-backed paper-paged book, I do like reading a digital version that allows me to do some quick research now and then on unfamiliar terms.

Another new term that I learned was the tynchal or hunt. This whole scene for me evoked an ethereal feeling, as I had been in deeply fog-shrouded forests like these in England. I never encountered a boar, though, thankfully enough. The most I ever had to do was "play" mock war games encamped in the depth of the woods during military exercises. We called them "Agressor" games, when "the enemy" would attempt to breach our camp security while we were entrenched in various defensive positions. I have never been so cold in all my life. Not from the physical temperature, mind you, but because everything was damp, wet, and just plain miserable. If these Scots were also coming off their hangovers from the evenings festivities before, I can't imagine they were feeling any better, even as tough as they appear to be. And with an enraged boar running around, it's not far-fetched to see how badly they could be wounded.

The death of Geordie is extremely moving, as they had to face a choice (albeit limited) of trying to patch him up so he could suffer for days from the effects of deadly infection, or allow him to bleed out and die. The poignancy of the moment for me is captured in picturing the silent march back to the castle:

The trip up the hill to the castle was silent. I walked beside the dead man, borne on a makeshift litter of pine boughs. Behind us, borne in precisely similar fashion, came the body of his foe. Dougal walked ahead, alone.

The paralleling of the two "victims" repose is irony of the highest crafted order. What a futile and reckless pride that fuels bravado.

I'm glad the chapter didn't end there, but continued on with a glimpse of some real Highland games, and how they appear to be a bit more, um, dangerous than any contemporary reenactments. Claire relates her busyness in the surgery that day:

All I could say for sure of authentic Highland games is that they were played for keeps.

I'm sure there were many severe injuries that would require constant attendance by medical personnel. Even in our own military training, extraordinary measures are taken to avoid injuries as much as possible. Moving a lot of men and equipment around, even for training, is bound to cause some mishaps. Makes me wonder how many clansmen might have missed real battles due to negligence during the games.

Interesting conclusion to the chapter, as Dougal offers to take Jamie and Claire to Fort William:

"...The commander there might be able to…assist ye in finding your family in France.” Or to assist you, I thought, in determining who I really am. And how much else are you not telling me? Dougal stared down at me, obviously wondering how I would take this news.

Nicely timed lead-in to further mysterious doings of the MacKenzie clan. Just what do they expect to find out about Claire? And, by all rights, what difference would it make to such a high-functioning clan heirarchy to find out some history on this meager outlander?

(Wow. I'm starting to sound like a trailer lead-in for the TV show...)