Hawk and Gram go to New Aurim, capital of Thenol, to do some sleuthing work in investigating the Verdinesh family.
They also get a quick course in medieval law.
Alicov proves to be popular with the Talons, showing herself to be more than a match for their crude smutty humor.
She also takes on (and beats!) two men in a height-peeing competition. Do not try this in public. You probably shouldn't try this in the privacy of your own home either.
Finally, she and Hawk are clearly going to hell. But at least they get to be fellow passengers on the carriage ride down.
The Bladeforge (comments)
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Manofevil
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 1687
- Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2003 11:12 pm
- Location: Why should I say? No one ever visits!
Nitpick: It's Krynn. They don't go to Hell, they go to the Abyss. 
Do us a favor Luv, Stick yer 'ead in a bucket a kick it!
So, gentlemen, that's how it is. Until Grissome.... resurfaces, I'm the acting president, and I say starting with this... anniversary festival, we run this city into the ground! :D
So, gentlemen, that's how it is. Until Grissome.... resurfaces, I'm the acting president, and I say starting with this... anniversary festival, we run this city into the ground! :D
Haha, that's true. But I've wondered about how strongly the Ansalon beliefs hold in Taladas. It seems that already the gods are in full retreat, and the only two that really seem to have any power are Mislaxa (Mishakal) and Hith/Hiteh (Hiddukel). Note that Pastor Dartoraigh is completely unable to heal Anveran's wounds using any clerical magic - he has to rely on needle and suture to sew her back up after she loses the baby.
I'm thinking that the only real divine magic that still exists at this point is the "Dark Side of the Force" style black magic that accompanies Hiteh. That's one reason why Malarchus is able to raise undead, and why the use of magic on the battlefield is still relatively rare.
Bearing in mind who Captain Hawk eventually becomes, I thought this is an important (though subtle) point to make. It lays the groundwork for why Drakov does not think highly of magic in battle.
Note that a long while ago, in the doomed defense of Forg against Malarchus and Perringen, Cob sees how the women are less effective fighters than the menfolk would have been. This also sows a seed of battlefield practicality in his mind that, in time, will become full fledged misogyny across all aspects.
For the time being, a lot of his darker moral aspects are being held in check by Alinestra Covelia, who is a real moderating influence on him. She embodies learning, civility, and also the domestic life that Cob as a boy never really knew. More importantly, she's aware of the hypocrisy of the nobility and never totally adheres to it herself, which makes her ethically similar to Hawk.
As you can probably guess at this point, Hawk could easily continue in his civilian life with Alinestra Covelia indefinitely if he's allowed to. Given what we know of how he ends up, what does that forbode for Alinestra Covelia then?
I'm thinking that the only real divine magic that still exists at this point is the "Dark Side of the Force" style black magic that accompanies Hiteh. That's one reason why Malarchus is able to raise undead, and why the use of magic on the battlefield is still relatively rare.
Bearing in mind who Captain Hawk eventually becomes, I thought this is an important (though subtle) point to make. It lays the groundwork for why Drakov does not think highly of magic in battle.
Note that a long while ago, in the doomed defense of Forg against Malarchus and Perringen, Cob sees how the women are less effective fighters than the menfolk would have been. This also sows a seed of battlefield practicality in his mind that, in time, will become full fledged misogyny across all aspects.
For the time being, a lot of his darker moral aspects are being held in check by Alinestra Covelia, who is a real moderating influence on him. She embodies learning, civility, and also the domestic life that Cob as a boy never really knew. More importantly, she's aware of the hypocrisy of the nobility and never totally adheres to it herself, which makes her ethically similar to Hawk.
As you can probably guess at this point, Hawk could easily continue in his civilian life with Alinestra Covelia indefinitely if he's allowed to. Given what we know of how he ends up, what does that forbode for Alinestra Covelia then?
Oh, a few other things.
In Thenol they use an address system that resembles Asian countries on Earth. They go from largest to smallest. Hence Alicov's address is "DISTRICT - STREET - NAME" rather than the Western way of "NAME - STREET - DISTRICT".
Partially because he never learned to read as a child, Hawk has fairly deep recall for conversations and other non-literary memories, as that's the only way he can form any sort of mental record. That is necessary in part because of the first person nature of the narrative. But it's also worth noting that he is fallible (he gets Alicov's address slightly wrong, for example) and he is also very subjective at times.
I'm toying with the idea of making his "subconscious visits" into a Dark Powers manifestation later on. So far it's been comic relief and just me mucking around with the language. But it could easily turn into the same voices that tempted Azalin with the lichhood potion, or tempted Strahd with the vampirism process.
I'm not quite sure how formal to make the whole "wedding" institution here. In this story Bela and Wilmar, for example, were never formally married, but the rest of the town treats them like a couple, perhaps similar to Britain's longstanding "Common law marriage" doctrine. Presumably the Temple would like to have greater control over marrying couples, but this seems to be more confined to the cities than to the villages. Lotal's half-sister lives as a wife to a man, and they're in Forg. Compare this to the Aspadistris family, who are clearly holding a wedding and for whom Allie Cove must commission a wedding paean.
Allie Cove herself was married at twelve (not a particularly early age by medieval standards) but this was clearly a formality that the inheritance laws required. It's structural as well, as her family needed her to produce an heir to the prince's will. I'm in two minds as to whether this should be seen from a modern viewpoint as a gross violation of her childhood innocence, or whether it should be shrugged off as a sign of the times. (Much as some parts of South Asia and Central Asia societies still have weddings for females at a young age.) She certainly seems to have suffered from it emotionally to some extent, as she is addicted to alcohol after using it to kill the pain of her first night, but whether this is because of her youth or merely the manner of the wedding is up to debate. Presumably even a 20-something woman could have a particularly bad experience and end up with a psychological condition because of it - in this case, alcohol dependency.
The final thing that I haven't really answered and I feel I ought to: Cob's relationship with Sootri. He clearly has the same response that a lot of modern readers would - he does not find that relationship to be acceptable and rejects her attempts to make it physical. But it's clear that Bela doesn't seem to care much, and the rest of the village doesn't seem to care that Cob and she sit together and dance together at the festival. Prent and Lotal don't seem to react badly to it either. It may come down to merely a question of there being no family tie, and whether the familiarity tie is too strong for Cob to overcome. Wilmar also seems completely indifferent - but it's worth noting that he did have a relationship with Anveran, who is described as a distant cousin.
That's all for now. It's clear that the story is getting readers (aside from myself) but I want to show that there is a fair bit of thought going into writing it. Hopefully it's generating some thought in readers too.
In Thenol they use an address system that resembles Asian countries on Earth. They go from largest to smallest. Hence Alicov's address is "DISTRICT - STREET - NAME" rather than the Western way of "NAME - STREET - DISTRICT".
Partially because he never learned to read as a child, Hawk has fairly deep recall for conversations and other non-literary memories, as that's the only way he can form any sort of mental record. That is necessary in part because of the first person nature of the narrative. But it's also worth noting that he is fallible (he gets Alicov's address slightly wrong, for example) and he is also very subjective at times.
I'm toying with the idea of making his "subconscious visits" into a Dark Powers manifestation later on. So far it's been comic relief and just me mucking around with the language. But it could easily turn into the same voices that tempted Azalin with the lichhood potion, or tempted Strahd with the vampirism process.
I'm not quite sure how formal to make the whole "wedding" institution here. In this story Bela and Wilmar, for example, were never formally married, but the rest of the town treats them like a couple, perhaps similar to Britain's longstanding "Common law marriage" doctrine. Presumably the Temple would like to have greater control over marrying couples, but this seems to be more confined to the cities than to the villages. Lotal's half-sister lives as a wife to a man, and they're in Forg. Compare this to the Aspadistris family, who are clearly holding a wedding and for whom Allie Cove must commission a wedding paean.
Allie Cove herself was married at twelve (not a particularly early age by medieval standards) but this was clearly a formality that the inheritance laws required. It's structural as well, as her family needed her to produce an heir to the prince's will. I'm in two minds as to whether this should be seen from a modern viewpoint as a gross violation of her childhood innocence, or whether it should be shrugged off as a sign of the times. (Much as some parts of South Asia and Central Asia societies still have weddings for females at a young age.) She certainly seems to have suffered from it emotionally to some extent, as she is addicted to alcohol after using it to kill the pain of her first night, but whether this is because of her youth or merely the manner of the wedding is up to debate. Presumably even a 20-something woman could have a particularly bad experience and end up with a psychological condition because of it - in this case, alcohol dependency.
The final thing that I haven't really answered and I feel I ought to: Cob's relationship with Sootri. He clearly has the same response that a lot of modern readers would - he does not find that relationship to be acceptable and rejects her attempts to make it physical. But it's clear that Bela doesn't seem to care much, and the rest of the village doesn't seem to care that Cob and she sit together and dance together at the festival. Prent and Lotal don't seem to react badly to it either. It may come down to merely a question of there being no family tie, and whether the familiarity tie is too strong for Cob to overcome. Wilmar also seems completely indifferent - but it's worth noting that he did have a relationship with Anveran, who is described as a distant cousin.
That's all for now. It's clear that the story is getting readers (aside from myself) but I want to show that there is a fair bit of thought going into writing it. Hopefully it's generating some thought in readers too.
Real life update:
I just finished the last project in my professional internship with the judge. Woo-hoo!
Now I can stop stressing out so much about work and go back to stressing out about study, like a normal law student. I still have the other internship, and I've just moved house so the commute is bearable. But hopefully I should be back to the fanfic more regularly.
There's still a few plot hooks to resolve here. I want there to be a trial as well for religious dereliction.
I just finished the last project in my professional internship with the judge. Woo-hoo!
Now I can stop stressing out so much about work and go back to stressing out about study, like a normal law student. I still have the other internship, and I've just moved house so the commute is bearable. But hopefully I should be back to the fanfic more regularly.
There's still a few plot hooks to resolve here. I want there to be a trial as well for religious dereliction.
An update to the story.
Hawk goes back to his violent ways, but this time in a more gladiatorial style.
He makes some inroads to the Verdinesh at Hasid.
He also has an odd conversation with Lotal wherein Lotal asks if he can have sex with Hawk's girlfriend, and Hawk manages to talk him out of it in a surprisingly deft way.
(This last item is based almost word-for-word on a conversation I had with a fellow law school student who asked me the same question two years ago.)
Hawk goes back to his violent ways, but this time in a more gladiatorial style.
He makes some inroads to the Verdinesh at Hasid.
He also has an odd conversation with Lotal wherein Lotal asks if he can have sex with Hawk's girlfriend, and Hawk manages to talk him out of it in a surprisingly deft way.
(This last item is based almost word-for-word on a conversation I had with a fellow law school student who asked me the same question two years ago.)
Hmm, that depends. Where are you comparing from?
He's fallen a pretty long way from being the strike team leader that he was against Malarchus. But if you're making your comparison from the last time you commented, he's actually about the same. Right now he's trying to sort out the Verdinesh problem, unusually, in a peaceful way.
He's still quite young at this point. He's not more than 20 or so.
He's fallen a pretty long way from being the strike team leader that he was against Malarchus. But if you're making your comparison from the last time you commented, he's actually about the same. Right now he's trying to sort out the Verdinesh problem, unusually, in a peaceful way.
He's still quite young at this point. He's not more than 20 or so.