Second Son Read Along: Chapter 6
Cutting it a little close today, aren't you, Jenelle?Ahem.Welcome back to the read along! Only 6 chapters in before I got behind. LOL But I'm determined to keep up and get these posts up each day (and this is where we come to the real reason I'm posting in the afternoons instead of the mornings).To start off, Jill asked over in the FB Group: My one question through most of the story has been how old the two brothers are during each of these events. Are they teens now? Young men? This is an excellent question, and one that takes a bit of math-ing to answer - especially since we have some significant time-jumps between chapters, and because people in Llycaelon age differently... it's not an exact science, but the general rule is that they age about half as quickly as normal humans, for reasons that include spoilers. In chapter 1, Rhoyan is 15 years old — which translates to about 7 or 8 in our years — while Ky is 20, and therefore approximately 10-11 years old by our standards. In chapter 4, we time-jump 5 years. Now Rhoyan is 20 (or 10 maturity-wise), while Ky is 25 (12/13... which could explain some of his general broody/snappishness). In chapter 5 we move forward another 7 years. Rhoyan is 27 (13/14) and Ky is 32 (16, some of those angsty jr. high emotions are behind him now). As we go through chapter 6 today, we discover that another 3 years have passed while Rhoyan has been traveling with Sheyardin and he is now 30 (15), and we can extrapolate from that that Ky is now 35 (17... approaching the end of his teenage years and looking to take his rite of passage soon and enter full adulthood).Clear as mud?Awesome.A lot of this aging stuff came about while I was writing King's Warrior and realized that in order for certain characters to have accomplished as much as they apparently had, they would need to have lived approximately twice as long as a normal human. Thus, the story soon revealed to me that people in Llycaelon aged more slowly, which solved the problem, but it also became a central part of the story as a whole, which was fun."Rhoyan doesn't even want to be king!"As he approaches the end of his apprenticeship, Ky is finally told about the prophecy and its implications. His first reaction is to scoff at it, then to deny it, and eventually to refuse to listen to his mentor.Meanwhile...Flames curled around the warrior and the child shrieked again...Rhoyan has continued his travels with Sheyardin and three years have passed, giving him plenty of time to hone his skills as he uses them practically to slay monsters and save villagers from were-folk: twisted creatures of shadow, created by magic as a mockery of the beautiful myth-folk.Sheyardin confides his concerns that the resurgence of these were-folk may be stemming from the stirring of Haeronymous, an ancient foe imprisoned long ago, but who still manages to sometimes gather enough strength to touch the world with his dark power. They determine to make their way to the Nameless Isles, which appears to be the source of these fell beasts.Yorien's SignSheyardin tells Rhoyan the myth behind the constellation of Yorien. I originally included this story for two reasons: 1) I have always loved the constellation Orion, so I borrowed a bit from its name and created my own myth, 2) when I wrote the story I was in the midst of having just suffered a rejection from the guy I had a crush on, and I needed an outlet for my disappointment. Hence the theme of "unrequited love" in the story of Yorien. Hey, they say "write what you know." grin"I am the oldest son of the king and therefore I am the rightful heir to the throne."Poor Ky is having a rough time of it back home. As he flips through his memories, it is possible that he is not remembering them accurately, but is already beginning to view his brother through the haze of suspicion being laid across his mind by his mentors. It is all too easy for a respected teacher to influence the way a student thinks, even if the student doesn't like the teacher.Discussion Questions: