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<Okay, this is a character I've been having trouble with, so I'm hoping this exercise can help me flesh her out.>
Time is running out for my people. The Ilarians have begun invading our mountain home. My future husband thinks we should try to make peace with them, but he doesn't understand. How can he? He lives in the Low Valleys. Like all of the southerners he's forgotten what it means to be Kenaran. Allured by the prospect of luxuries and riches, he chooses to forget the Ilarians drove our ancestor Rohanna from our homeland and forced her to live here, in the harsh mountains. And now they want to take our mountains, too? The Ilarians will never be content--it ends here and now. We have to rally to fight them off, once and for all. It's the only way.
My mother will not support me. She remembers how the lords of the Low Valleys betrayed her grandfather. Let the Ilarians take them, and good riddance. Since my father died her heart has turned to ice, and her mind clouded by the cider she drinks. My brother and I, we have a different vision. My marriage to Maer of the Low Valley will unite our people together. It is the only hope we have if we are to prevail against the Ilarians.
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Gwineth, has there ever been an Ilarian you could reason with? Have any Kenaran and Ilarian ever accomplished anything together that could be used to build a bridge between your people?
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posted
I haven't met any Ilarians. Well, I suppose Alain--but he's hardly an Ilarian. Not any more. He renounced that country twenty five years ago. He doesn't even want to speak about his past, and swears he will never return.
You would have me reason with an Ilarian, as my betrothed, Maer, suggests? He says there's hope of a treaty with them, that the Ilarians want wood and iron, and would leave us alone. But to allow them to mine our mountains and cut our trees--Rohanna would rise up from her grave to chastise us. The mountains and trees would weep at our treachery. And Ilarians cannot be trusted, even with a treaty. Alain has told me so many stories of their greed and betrayal. According to him the members of the imperial family poisoned and warred against each other. Is this not proof of their weak blood? Of a sick, demented culture? I would never betray my brother that way. Or my mother, though I wish she would subside. She tries to sabotage every political effort my brother and I make for peace.
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This spring will by my eighteenth. I would have been married already--was married, two years ago, but my first husband died in a war with mountain raiders. I was betrothed again, but he slipped on the pass to our valley. Do not tell Maer this. He will probably have to go to war very soon and I don't want him to think he's cursed. But then, maybe he would be right. My older brother Gaylen laughs at the prospect, but I've always felt something wasn't right with me. I don't belong; not like Gaylen. Everything comes easily to him.
Gaylen has been king since my father died. I will formally assume the right of the womb when my mother passes. For now, my people look to me, since my mother hasn't been right since Father died. Rohanna's legacy is passed down from womb to womb. As siblings, Gaylen and I will share power, but my children, and Maer's, will inherit the throne. The lesser lords swear fealty to me and my brother. The lords of the Low Valleys have strayed from our old ways of inheritance, but Maer will see. He will have no choice.
Allies? Kenaras are seen as the outcasts. The lowland nations gave us that scar to wear, and now we show it with pride. They would ostracize us; we want nothing more to do with them, anyway.
My father was killed by mountain men. I am proud of how he lived his life, like a true warrior, defending our people. What more can be said beyond that? But sometimes, when I'm in the Sacred Grove, I think about him, and pretend his spirit is still here, with me. I wish-- I wish I'd had the chance to prove to him how strong I can be. He loved me, I know, but I think he always wished I could be like Gaylen.
Do I look forward to my wedding? <snorts>. There won't even be a wedding, most likely. My mother was married in the Sacred Grove, so Rohanna would bless her union. I don't know that I will have that privilege. Already, my brother is making plans to counter the Ilarians, and Maer will be called to fight beside him. It doesn't matter. Weddings are silly affairs. My brother was married last fall, to a woman of a valley north of us. She is... kind, but it surprised us all when he told us he would marry her. My mother, of course, is pleased. But then, nothing he does could displease her.
Anyway, Maer is stuborn and slow-witted. I can't say I enjoy his company. But I will pray for him to live, if only to preserve peace. My mother was fortunate--she and my father loved each other, dearly. Already, he calls her from the grave. And with Maer, I would not even dare take lovers, not with the fragility of the union between us and the Low Valleys. So, too soon, I will have to say goodbye to Loeic.
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The Ilarians drove Rohanna out almost 500 years ago. It's not painful. But it threatens our way of life. Their gods represent everything that we've tried to excise from our lives--greed, conquest. They believe that all other races are fated to be conquered by them. I am--afraid of them, I suppose. But who wouldn't be?
Alain told me many stories when I was a girl. The villagers, too, pass stories around. Some of them are foolish, designed to frighten children, but some, I think, are true.
We've never gotten along, as far as I know. Alain knows better--he's the scholar. The Ilarians were once barbarians, living on the lands beyond the great cliffs. Alain has shown me maps, but I can't imagine what they are like. It's so far away from home. Their gods spoke evil words in their ears. Their first emperor was born, and led them across the steppes. They invaded my ancestor's country, what is now Ilaria. Rohanna was only a child when her family was slaughtered and burned before her. With the help of her first knight, Beledir, she rallied the remains of her people and fled with them into the mountains. The Ilarians chased her down, intending to exterminated them all, but Beledir was able to fend them off. If you look up in the sky you can see him. My father once said as long as he is in the sky you will be safe.
Anyway, in the centuries in between, we haven't had much contact with them. There's been some trading with the lords of the low valley, but my family has always frowned down upon it. We would rather be left alone, and in truth, the Ilarians didn't care much about us, one way or the other. They busied themselves with conquering the other nations around them.
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What do you do? (Position?) I am a princess.
What do you love about your land?
Who is your best friend? I do not know what you mean. I do not have a friend above all others. My brother and I are close. I confide in him a great deal, though he sometimes laughs at me. I love my nanna, but she is getting old, and often doesn't remember what I've told her. I talk often with Dydra, my sister-in-law, but I feel ill at ease with her. She is kind, but I do not know why my brother chose to marry her, of all women who would have joined with him. There's Loeic, but he is my lover, if I can claim that.
Why would you marry an outcast? Maer is no outcast. He is second son of one of the most important houses of the Low Valley. Our families have been at odds, but I hope our marriage will change that and unite our people.
Do you get cold easy? Hot? Cold, more easily than hot. I have cold blood, I am told, a daughter of the summer star. In the winter I am cold so often, though I will not admit it. Winter is Rohanna's time; it should be mine, too.
Do you like to hunt? I do not often hunt any more. When I was younger I would go with my brother and some of his men. But it's hard work, and takes more patience than I have. Gaylen can stalk a deer for hours, or wait like a owl in a tree for one to come by. My legs always start aching, or I start growing cold.
What is your favorite food? Color? Smell? View? Time of day? Flower? Animal? My favorite food is nanna's rabbit stew. It is perfect on a winter's night. She roasts the rabbit first, then throws it in the stew, and makes a broth with the bones. She won't tell me what herbs she uses. If she told me why would I need her anymore, she said once, joking. I tried to spy on her once. She caught sight of me and pretended not to notice. But when I taste the stew that night it was horrible! She laughed--she hoped I'd learned my lesson, she said. That was nanna in the old days--tricky as an old crow. My father never approved of her, Gaylen said. He'd thought her improper, but I loved her for it. My favorite color--I confess is a purple sash Maer gave to me. I've never seen anything of that color before--so rich and vivid! And the fabric--silk he said, so smooth and light. This is what the southerners adore. I could not understand the intensity of their greed, but at least I saw the joy in such things. I love the color of indigo as well, though it is not so rare around here.
I love the smell of the blue cedars that surround our home. You can smell the scent of them in the old wood of our house, as well. Even after all these centuries, the smell is still there, if you press your nose up against them. My favorite view is from the sacrificial stone at the ridge behind my home. You can see south, down the pass and almost into the valley beyond. It's exciting to think what lies beyond. I've only been out of our valley a half-dozen times, mostly to my uncle's. I love the morning time, when the birds are awake and singing, but the sun has not yet crested over the mountains. I sometimes sneak out of the house and go walk through the Sacred Grove, or sometimes even the path to Bear Pass. My favorite animal is the noble eagle, my brother's familiar.
Do you like children? Have children? Want children? Children are expected of me. I feel a little awkward around them, but with time I'm sure I will become used to them. There are no children in our house right now. Except Fiarn, I suppose, but he's so different from other children I've known. He is my nephew, and orphaned. Ever since his father died he's spoken hardly a word. He only looks at you, long and hard, as if he can see the entirety of you. I wish he wouldn't stare at me like that.
What is your favorite adornment? Why? A knife my brother gave me. It belonged to my father before him. It's a small and old, with a weathered wooden scabbard but I love it. I suppose that's not really an adornment. My nanna weaves flowers for my hair sometimes. I love the summer trumpets--they smell so sweet. I have a couple jewels--a necklace Maer gave me, ear bobs from my mother, a belt with moonstones and cateye. These I will wear on occasion.
Do you have any magics? Magic talismans? Weapons? There are those who claim to channel the gods' energies; I am not one of them. I have many charms. Right now it is spring, so I wear one for health and a good harvest--every one in the valley wears one of those. Nanna made me a very special charm for fertility and childbirth, to use when the time comes. In the winter, I will wear one to incur the goddess of winter's mercy. I have three weapons: the knife, my quarterstaff, and my bow and arrow. I have never used the knife for more than skinning animals. My quarterstaff I used to use more, when I competed in the fights every spring. My bow was a gift from my mother. I take it hunting, but in truth I am a terrible shot, unlike my mother, it is said. And Fiarn--he doesn't do it often but I've seen him shooting at targets for practice.
What do you most fear? Why? I fear losing my brother. It will happen one day, I know it. But please, not today. I love him. He is what makes the world make sense to me.
What makes you laugh or smile? Why? A friendly face makes me smile. People I love. People say I don't laugh enough but Gaylen can always make me laugh. He used to play such tricks on me when we were kids. And nanna's observations about people. She notices the funniest things! Loeic makes me smile like a fool. He doesn't make me laugh though, not a lot, anyway. He's a bit too... hard edged for that. He is like a mountain goat.
I had to think about this one for a while. My first answer was that it was my home; of course I love it. I love how the mountains cradle the valley, I love the Yxer's little sister which swells in the spring. I love the sweet scent of summer trumpets, the piercing cry of the mountain chickadee, and the howling of the wolves at night. I love that I know every path in the passes and up our mountains. I could run them at night--have run them. I love the stars wheeling overhead. I love falling asleep in the meadow among the tall grass and wild flowers. I can close my eyes and feel the spirit of the forest moving through the trees. I have known no other life.
But what do I love most? It's that I feel safe and secure in my country. The mountains hold me in, preventing our way of life from spilling out. Our valley is easily defensible--there are only a few passes, and those easily guarded and difficult to find by those unfamiliar with the lay of the land. There are times when I climb up to the high ridge behind our house and wonder what lies beyond. I picture the maps Alain's shown me, of deserts and steppes and oceans, whatever those are, and wonder if I will ever see them.
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It sounds like you long to roam. In the same paragraph that you say you love the safety and security of your country, you also suggest that you want to see the places represented by Alain's maps. Are you sure that, for all you love the comfort of your home, you do not long to be free of its clutch?
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I cannot leave. My people need me, here. If I were to leave I would lose my touch with the spirits of the forest. I would lose Rohanna's blessing and her protection.
It;s true, though, sometimes I imagine... I used to play with Alain's maps when I was a child, pretending I was a trader traveling from city to city. My mother got angry with me, though, and snatched the maps away. I think she got angry with Alain, as well, because he would not let me see them again for a long time, and then only in his rooms.
quote: My mother got angry with me, though, and snatched the maps away. I think she got angry with Alain, as well, because he would not let me see them again for a long time, and then only in his rooms.
That's curious. Do you feel she's hiding something? What could it be? Is there some truth she's afraid you'll discover?
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I am pleased you asked me about the spirits of my homeland. I do not know if you will be able to feel them. I do not know that foreigners can. Alain can't, even after all his time here learning our ways. Go to the forest, or sit by the waterfall and still yourself. If you can, you will feel the divinity that dwells there. We see the godhood in the turn of seasons, in the song of a bird, in the death of an ancient tree. The Goddess Winter is the most powerful of them all. It is to her, and her denizens, that we make our offerings to plead for her mercy. As Rohanna's daughter, I am the liason between this world and the spirits'.
When Rohanna fled to the mountains, she clung to the old gods, the false gods concerned with the affairs of men. She had to learn to open her heart to the spirits in order to survive. Once she did, Goddess Winter showed her how the wolves hunt in packs, how a bird can find grubs in the bark of a tree, and how a squirrel will pack food away in the frozen ground to eat throughout the dead season.
As for my mother, I have not thought before if she were hiding something. I cannot imagine what it could be. Perhaps she is afraid I will want to travel there, and learn more about these people. I've already admitted some part of me does, since you discovered it yourself, but I would never leave home. She has to know that. She is adamant against any contact with the other nations. She was the one who officially closed our borders, disallowing trade. Anyone caught trading was called traitor. My brother loosened the rules; rather, he chose to look the other way, though he maintains the official ban.
quote: She is adamant against any contact with the other nations. She was the one who officially closed our borders, disallowing trade. Anyone caught trading was called traitor.
And the plot thickens. You don't find this at all suspicious?
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Sir, I must protest! What are you suggesting about her? She is bound by grief. Her grandfather was killed in a minor skirmish with the Ilarians, and after Father died, she lost all sense of herself. But she has never lied to me. I see she has acted out of fear, and I do not know if I agree with what she has done, but she did it to protect our people. How can I fault her for that?
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