#WordWeavers 3.17 — Describe a traditional celebration in your world.
The most important day in the Holy Empire is the Winter Solstice.
That's when the sacrifices begin. They take the lives of the current First House, four Pillars in the Sacred Square, four Winds at the edges of the Empire. Their deaths ensure the strength of the Veil.
For the general populace, those four days are days of feasting and dancing, a great festival.
#WordWeavers 3.14 — What role does ethnicity play in your world?
Not a very big one, to be honest.
There are people living in different region of the continent, with different traditions, society and history, and there might actually some typical physical features, but it doesn't impact my characters or story much.
My Winds and Pillars actually enjoy meeting people from outside the Holy Empire.
That is very different from the Wolves. They are killed for it.
#PhantastikPrompts 12.3. Wo und wie schläft deine Hauptfigur am Anfang der Geschichte? Und am Ende?
Am Anfang schläft Sun in seinem House, im Sacred Square, dort wo er sein Leben lang gelebt hat. Er sollte dort auch sterben (genauer, auf der Sun Pyramid), aber daraus wurde dann nichts.
Am Ende schläft er in seinem Bett in seinem neuen Zuhause, ziemlich glücklich. 😉 Und mit einer neuen Aufgabe.
#PennedPossibilities 251 — What clothing materials or outfits feel the most comfortable to your MC?
Sun is used to the uncolored cotton clothes he and his House have been given all their lives. They all wear the same simple pants with drawstrings and shirts without collars.
They are not going anywhere, so there is no need for fancy clothes. Of course, his were often stained from food spills that no magic could clear.
#WordWeavers 3/11. What do they appreciate most (antagonists, world)?
The Head Priest of Jungle Fortress absolutely loves the fact that Priests rule over the Holy Empire. It has given him everything, power, luxury, the sense of being needed.
He's part of the ruling class, and he savors that feeling. In fact, he wants to rise even higher. And when he catches Sky, he knows he's so close to his goal.
Sky Falls, Pillars of the Empire 2
(available in all stores)
#WordWeavers 3/10. What annoys your antagonist most about the world they live in?
The Head Priest of Jungle Fortress (sorry, keep coming back to him) would really like to get his hands on his own Winds and Pillars - called Stars when they are not in the Sacred Square. (People with magical powers.)
He has one Star, but he could do so much more if he had a House. Not that he'll ever get it...
Sky Falls, Pillars of the Empire 2
(available in all stores)
#WordWeavers 3/9: If your MC doesn't want to be social, will they be direct or make an excuse?
Sun is not used to being alone much, after living with the same seven people in a fairly small space all his life.
And he is most certainly not used to speak up for himself. So he'll mumble something as an excuse and hide in a corner or the edge of camp when he can't handle things anymore.
#PennedPossibilities 247. Who does your MC or SC share their deepest secrets with?
For Sun, that has always been Moon, his fellow Snake and House brother. They always worked together. Sun has no idea that Moon was his twin, however.
Now Moon is dead, and Sun hasn't even had time to properly grieve him. So no, right now, he has nobody he will share his secrets with, not even Laisal.
#WordWeavers 5/3
What sounds would your antagonist hear in their favourite place?
The Head Priest of Jungle Fortress would hear the soft murmur of their servants and the fawning words of the Priests under their command.
He might even hear the pleas of people asking for support from the Priests - and sometimes, he might decide to get a House to work on it. (Not that he controls a House.)
#PennedPossibilities 244 — Do your characters have any co-workers they’re close with? Are there any they can’t stand?
Sun's "co-workers" are the members of his House.
He's very close to Moon, who feels like a brother to him. Both of them are fond of South.
He doesn't care as much for the rest of his House, but nobody he outright hates. They had years to learn to live with each other. And now it's all coming to an end.
#PennedPossibilities 243 — Imagine, if you will, an alternate universe… Which of your characters is most likely to attempt karaoke?
Of all my Winds and Pillars, probably Sky.
Not that he can sing, but he has this sense of mischief that would let him try. And his West would cheer him on.
East would grumble, West would snuggle his Jeko, and South would tap her fingers to the beat. North would smile her shy smile. Earth might do a round, too, after Sky.
A few criteria. Must be EPIC fantasy. Must be finished (Tolkien gets a pass). Must be character-driven with long plot arcs that resolve with catharsis. I have to like the protagonist and their allies.
Magic Key: [S] Soft, [M] Mushy, [F] Firm, [H] Hard
The Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurtz. A story about wild, endangered, magical creatures, and the absurdly overpowered wizards and dragons who protect them. Uncannily personal, beautiful and cruel as a landslide. Power is bound to empathy, to the planet, to life, itself. There's no other magic like TWoLaS... Trust me. Read this. [M]
Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb. I can barely read sometimes, because the tears ... It's cathartic, and epic. When you get to the penultimate end of all 16 books, and the Keystone drops, and the arcs resolve into sudden synchronicity... That is literature. [M]
Anything written by JRR Tolkien. [S]
Pellinor by Allison Croggon. Bards keep the Balance on a lost continent of Earth. It's beguilingly fae, an honest homage to Tolkien that puts music, nature, and a wild child at the fulcrum of world-changing events. An honest homage to Tolkien, but with such gift of craft it steps boldly into more personal territory. [M]
ANY epic fantasy by NK Jemisin, including Dreamblood, Broken Earth, and Inheritance. Each is a world unto itself, and epic. Dreamblood is probably my favorite, and the more traditional fantasy, but I can't pick just one. [H]
Lyonesse by Jack Vance. A beautiful, terrifying, mad-cap fairy-tale written by a grand-master of the English language (keep a thesaurus handy), Enter the antediluvian realm of the Elder Isles, where Avallon and Ys vie for dominance, and fairy creatures still haunt the woods and wield their uncanny magics. It is also utterly depraved, OK? Grimdark got nothin' on Jack Vance. You read that right. This is not your kindly storyteller unraveling a lovely yarn. [S]
Black Company by Glen Cook. Epic Sword & Sorcery that will surprise you no matter how many times you read them all. [S]
A Man of His Word by Dave Duncan. Utterly unique, uncanny and magical epic. You may not see it at first, but Duncan has firm, almost hard, rules of magic. Every detail matters. [F]
Riftwar by Raymond Feist. Dude. It's EPIC. But with like 40 books, including 3 books co-written by Janny Wurtz (my #1), be prepared for a long read, with a lot of court intrigue. He's a rare writer who just got better with time. He's still writing and his Firemane is ongoing and grimdark, and really good. [F]
David Eddings, although I think The Malloreon and later works are better than The Belgariad. That's saying something, though, because it's pretty great. [S]
--
Note: Looking the above SMFH (pronounced, "Smurf") results, I can only conclude that I prefer Soft & Mushy to Firm & Hard, when it comes to fantasy.
I'm going to read the rest of Eddings' epics in the realm of the Kingdoms of the West and the Angaraks, and will post about them when I get to them. Eddings wrote three other epic series -- The Malloreon, The Elenium, and The Tamuli -- and what I remember from my last reading 10 years ago, each is better than the one before it. So I was looking forward to this re-read.
I haven't been disappointed. I'm almost to the end of The Belgariad and it is much richer and more interesting than I remembered from my previous reading.
The Belgariad is really about a prophecy, or really, two diametrically opposed prophecies, and the magic power of their opposition. It is this tension between different fates for the world that seems to drive magic, and history -- kingdoms and empires and global political forces.
First published in 1984, The Belgariad does reflect some of the tropes and flaws of the Tolkien-pretender era of fantasy writing, perhaps exemplified by Terry Brooks and Steven King, who openly state that they wanted to write an epic because of Tolkien. Eddings motives preface my edition:
I'd noticed that high fantasy lacked the gritty realism of The Grapes of Wrath or For Whom the Bell Tolls, so in a sense, our fantasies have been an experiment in form -- "Realistic Fantasy," perhaps (or Fantastic Realism, take your pick).
I still think The Belgariad falls short of his literary ambitions. His vision and storytelling are still somewhat juvenile in the manner of Brooks, Jordan, King, or countless other authors who imitated Tolkien in that era. But like Brooks, and unlike Jordan or King... Eddings got better at it. Leaps and bounds better at it than Brooks did.
To sum, I'm going to keep reading before I post any real reviews, but I'll post these meta-reviews when I feel like it for each series in the Eddings saga.