King's Warrior Read-Along: Chapter 5
I hope you’re having a lovely Saturday! Today’s chapter is so full of intrigue and set-up, so let’s just get started, shall we?
We return to Ayollan, where King Arnaud is preparing for the coming battle. He has been quite busy in the past few weeks, sending spies to Roalthae to see what Prince Elroy is up to... and my, is he up to no good!
The intentions of the Dark Country. We hear snippets of information about our villain, here. King Seamas is presumably using Roalthae as a staging ground to attack Aom-igh from a much closer vantage point. Roalthae is providing use of its land, ships, and weapons, but is staying out of the actual fighting. (This is a change from the original version, in which Prince Elroy was much more involved and villainous... but I liked him better as a puppet than a mastermind, so I changed that in the final draft).
The spy. This is the first time we meet Sir Justan, who eventually becomes a very important secondary character, particularly in Yorien’s Hand!
Meanwhile, our travelers have arrived in Peak’s Shadow, and we discover later that they have only reached their destination hours after Brant left, to find it in ruins.
“What happened in the cave?” Oraeyn and Kamarie have one of their most friendly conversations thus far, and we learn a bit more about Oraeyn’s background. This is where we really see the sniping at each other begin to fade, to be replaced by the beginnings of true friendship between these two.
Apparently, many of you “ship” Oraeyn and Kamarie. I only just recently learned about “shipping” - for anyone who doesn’t know, this is when the audience hopes that two characters end up in a romantic relationship. Do they end up together?
Well, as River Song would say, “Spoilers!”
Come on, now, you don’t REALLY want to know... do you?
And, finally, all three of our story lines intersect, as Brant joins the company. But what to do next? Of course, my world doesn’t have convenient Eagle-Air, so we’re about to spend a bit more time... walking. Okay, riding horses. Do you know, in the first draft of this story, Brant did not have his own horse, and I made a big huge deal about how he was able to ride Kamarie’s horse, who didn’t usually allow anyone to ride him but Kamarie.
I was more than a bit horse-crazy in my younger years. I haven’t outgrown it, really, but I don’t have the time or money to pursue it these days. There is a dream of owning a ranch someday... but only the Lord knows if that will ever be more than just a dream.
Anyway, I eventually decided that particular story-thread did nothing to move the plot along, so I nixed it and gave Brant his own horse.
The Waiting Game. We finish the chapter where we began it, with King Arnaud. The news of impending invasion has circulated through the ranks, but the days are passing and no with nary a visible threat in sight... and the men are relaxing their guard. King Arnaud is researching anything he can get his hands on about the enemy, but it is Queen Zara who points him in the right direction.
Scelwhyn. Oh, the mysterious wizard who was the last of his kind.
“Ah, yes. Well, you would know.” Interesting. And, yes, I did have a marvelous time dropping subtle hints throughout the entire story. I have been told by readers that they sometimes feel that an overarching theme throughout King’s Warrior is that nobody is exactly what they seem. To which I say: True. That was kind of the point.
“If it comes to that, you know that we will do everything in our power, but we do have limits.” Foreshadowing! Foreshadowing!
Q&A
Abbey wants to know: Brant’s ship crashed on the shores of the Harshlands… did he make a Jack Sparrow sort of entrance, like in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie?
Okay, I know you're kind of joking, but it's actually a great question, because it allows me to share a sneak-peek type excerpt! His entrance wasn't quite as dashing, debonaire, and audacious as Jack Sparrow's. Here's a little clip from SECOND SON, where you get to see how he arrives on the shores of Aom-igh:
Brant had no notion of how long he slept. It might have been minutes, hours, or even days for all he could tell. He might have gone on sleeping for much longer, but a sudden lurch and the sound of splintering boards woke him. Recollection of his capture by the Ramblers spurred him to full wakefulness in a heartbeat. He was up and out of the cabin in one fluid motion, ready to face this new danger.
His boat had been blown into a natural harbor of an unknown land. The hull of the ship had battered up against the great rocks lining the shore. The ship was stuck amongst the rocks. In spite of the raging waters and the obvious damage, Brant tied off a rope and lowered himself over the side to see if his craft could be salvaged. A quick examination gave Brant his answer, the vessel was beyond repair.
He climbed back aboard and quickly grabbed every supply he could find, stuffing it all into his pack along with the coil of rope which he loosed from the mast. Finally, he closed the sack, slung it and his canteen over his shoulder, and dove into the water and away from his foundering vessel. He swam towards land until the water grew shallow enough to walk, and then he waded the rest of the way in.
Clambering some ways onto shore, Brant stopped and took in his surroundings. A vast desert stretched in every direction. The land was lifeless and still, an ocean of golden sand and a sea of windswept rocks. He was trapped. The path behind was now closed to him with his craft resting on the ocean floor, and he had no ship or protection for the journey across the barren ocean. At length, he shouldered his pack and began to march forward across the great, sandy plain.
Abbey also wants to know: Okay, serious question now (you don’t have to answer the other one unless you really want to): Do you have a map of Aom-igh?
Another excellent question. I do! I'm hoping to publish a version of the book with the map included in the near future, but I haven't been able to figure out how to do so yet. My husband created this, and is working on maps for the rest of the realms in Tellurae Aquaous. This isn't ALL of Aom-igh, but it shows all the places that are covered in King's Warrior (you can click on it to see it nice and big and more readable).
Discussion Questions:
- What do you think of the use of prophecy as a plot mechanism in fantasy?
- If you’re reading this for the first time, what do you think of Queen Zara?
- If you’re re-reading this, did you catch all the hints about Zara the first time through? Or were you surprised?
- General reactions to this chapter?
Remember that you can ask your own questions as well and leave them in the comments. I will answer them in later posts in the Q&A section.