King's Warrior Read-Along: Chapter 12
Good afternoon and welcome back to the read-along of my first novel, KING’S WARRIOR. We’re trekking right along through chapter 12 today. If you’re just joining us, please feel free to stick around, even if you’re not participating in the read-along! I understand you might not want to read the posts if you have not yet read the book, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section, and I’ll answer them in a later post!
“All right, all right, let's see, she was in the water, the eel was coming after her, she was frightened, the eel started to charge her and then....” (bonus points if you know where this quote is from!)
“Jenelley, you did the thing!” my family shouted as they began this chapter. I did try very hard NOT to do “the thing” of course, but I couldn’t help it. I needed to leave a trail for Brant to follow, and Enreigh and Marghita’s house was right there... and then it started raining. I could see Kamarie being willing to suffer through the downpour herself, but I could not accept that Kamarie would be okay with making Yole stay out in the rain, not when there was the possibility of being warm and dry so close.
“The Thing” of course, is that plot device where the characters are traveling along, firmly determined to sleep outside, to not enter the village, to not stay at the inn... and then the sun goes down, and it’s cold, and the inn looks inviting, so they say, “Oh, just this once.” Of course, inevitably, that inn is where the bad guys are staying, or word gets out, and our heroes get attacked and have to flee in the middle of the night, and spend the whole next day staunchly stating that they will NEVER do that again... until, of course, the sun goes down....
Happened a lot in the early Wheel of Time books.
I did change the series of events a bit, but my family was a bit miffed with me anyway.
Rhendak. Poor Rhendak is having a Very Bad Day. (or set of days) I feel kind of sorry for him. I’m still kind of amazed that he managed to succeed King Graldon, his very less-than-dragonish nature really can’t have helped him get that position. I had fun giving a bit more explanation about why the laws need to be so harsh in the Dragon Kingdom.
Brant’s explanation. Oraeyn gets a tiny glimpse into more of Brant’s past, but he still believes the man is not telling him everything.
This was a fun chapter to write. Partially because I really just had so much fun writing Marghita’s accent. I don’t do a lot of accents in my books, partially because it can be a bit difficult for the reader if there are all sorts of strange words or apostrophes, and partially because it can be hard to be consistent with them. With Marghita, for example, I had to speak her lines out loud as I wrote them. And, to make her feel more real, I let her be a little inconsistent. For example, I know the correct way to say it is, “Lily and I are going to the movies.” But I might still sometimes say it, “Me and Lily are going to the movies.” And I know that “irregardless” is not a word, but I like the way it sounds, and so I still use it occasionally. So, Marghita sometimes does use the word “were” correctly, even though her wont is to say “was” instead.
Q&A
Kendra wants to know: Of course, if I remember right, there are other references to Arthurian legends in the book, aren’t there? I seem to remember an Arthur figure in their history.
Yep, you’re remembering correctly. One of Aom-igh’s kings, as well as one of the High Kings (you’ll learn lots more about them in Yorien’s Hand) is a man named Artair, and he pulls a legendary sword from a stone up at the top of Fortress Hill. Hmmm, wonder where I got that idea?
I also reference Robin Hood at some point a little later on. I had a reference to Cinderella in Second Son, but my line-editor said it was getting a bit hard to believe that Aom-igh had ALL the same stories and legends that we do... so I ended up cutting it out.
Allan James wants to know: The question I am dying to know is this………….what does susurration mean?
Susurrus (also, susurration): whispering, murmuring, or rustling.
Discussion Questions:
- For those of you who have read Second Son, what do you think of Brant’s explanation? Did he lie, or just make a few conspicuous omissions?
- What are some plot devices that drive you crazy when you read them (like the one I mentioned above)?
- Any favorite lines or passages from this chapter? (Or any in previous chapters I haven’t asked about?)
- Any questions?