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Love it!
This is great stuff Armond!
It was so very cool to see Rose and Cunedda again - and Rose is radiant!! You could see it coming in After Winter, but it's still wonderful to see her... erm... in full bloom (*don't hit me - I'm sorry*) hehe
I can't wait to see how Caden finds her way in the remainder of this one.
Thanks!
~abenderx~
Ya gots ta...
Ya gots ta bring Lily in as well!! I'd really love to see how Rose and Lily interact now that everyone's... awake... ;-)
Rose is too good a character...
to leave on the sidelines too long. She demanded to go into the game.
me too!
Rosie 2 the rescue!
She has become pretty awesome.
I feel sorry for Caden ( needs a new name ) who nevere asked for it but he gave himself for the sake of others. No Greater Love, ya know.
Luv the chapter!
Kim
Her new name has already been mentioned...
...Kim, can you find it?
You're right about Caden, she has gotten the raw end of things. She is being tested to see if she is worthy of something much greater.
I don't recall seeing a female name for the ex-prince so far...
Unless his former intended bride had a mocking name for the transformed man. However, the name might have been hinted at, I quote.
>>
“You are just in time, Mother,†Rose gave Cunedda a sleepy lopsided grin. “Caden has started to tell me of the most amazing dream she had.â€
“Yes! Yes! I saw Her! She sang to me!â€
“Thrice blessed you are,†Cunedda said, sitting on the bed next them. “Tell me of it.â€
>>
So is there a classic woman's name that translates as thrice blessed?
I'm not up enough on Shakespeare to see a pattern in his sisters names.
Guess I'll have to wait until the next installment posts.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
Tough Love
Selene is a tough love type of Goddess. Her way of helping is not always what you would desire but in the end it works out. From what I can see of her sisters, King Rhys has the beginnings of an excellent Armed Forces chiefs of Staffs or perhaps a Presidential Cabinet. Besides it is always easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. :) From the looks of this I think King Coel is going to have to beg for help because he's about to have his head handed to him. Great story!
Hugs!
Grover
Yes, the princesses have everything they need...
...if they have enough time to figure it out.
Thanks, Grover
What to say?
Flawless,
This chapter is as good as it gets. Hints, partial info to tease us, an intervention by key characters from an earlier tale in this trilogy(?) and a key to the two possible futures is given.
Beautiful.
Now what of the stupid king and his vain/cruel daughter? Are they in prison, deposed or what? What will their penance/punishments be and will their nation be forced to suffer as well for their folly? The wise, brave old general seems to have taken over at least the military but does he rule? The enemy is equally hampered by incomplete and conflicting info. But will the fog of war favor one side or the other? What will happen to their king and his crafty and murderous spys? And what of the vaunted remnants of the dead god king's troops, the Black Guards. Five years have passed since the god kings death. Aare they really all that powerful anymore?
And when will King Rhys get off his self pitying ass? He needs to shape up or be deposed. The daughters MUST take power to save the kingdoms ALL of them including the newest, the former Prince. If Rose Red's power is restoring life -- hum, is she in essence now LIVING Panacea? So what is Princess Caden's power/gift other than her unearthly beauty and goddess Selene's love? What did the blue sparks indicate, great magical abilities and power, fertility, strength, what? Oh, and will she change her name or will her KEEPING her name be more important, it inspiring confidence in the sisters as co-rulers?
As they were told it won't be easy for them but it will be fun to read.
Bravo, you outdid yourself.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
I hadn't thought of that, but you're right!
Rose is living panacea! What a cool thought.
If there is a common thread in all these stories, it is Amangons. He may be dead, but his corruption continues to spread and grow.
As you guessed, the next chapter will show what has happened to Coel and Avila. (But its main thrust will be the princesses and King Rhys).
Thaks for the feedback and I noticed something, maybe?
I quote.
>>
21.
“...and the high council dithers and twiddles their thumbs, unable to pass the simplest resolutions.†Gwyneth said. She, her sisters, and Cunedda were gathered around one of the large black iron kitchen stoves, watching the first bag steep in hot water.
“The military is much the same,†Rhonwen joined in, “for with Father barricading himself in his hunting lodge, his generals are like headless chickens, spinning in circles.â€
“Everyone is,†Carme said. “If war is coming, we must be ready. There will be injured soldiers. Refugees seeking shelter. Yet our healers are scattered across the kingdom, hunkered down for the winter.â€
“More than that,†Laelia said, “the people have heard the rumblings of war, and of a mysterious tragedy to prince Caden that has driven their king from the city. They need to know someone leads them.â€
Cunedda looked from one princess' face to the next and smiled. “That was an excellent briefing, ladies. Now, what are you going to do about it?â€
>>
So the hint is IMHO, if the women wish to prevent disaster they must take power and specifically in those areas of their particular expertise/interests that they themselves just expressed their concerns about. IE Princess Gwyneth will preside over the government or high council, Princess Rhonwen to oversee the military, Princess Carme will organize relief/refuges and the medial corps, Princess Laetia will be the equivalent of a presidential press secretary/minister of propaganda and work to counter rumors and boost the general morale. Most importantly Princess Caden or whatever she might rename herself will be the overall Princess Regent or even Queen and/or the head of magic/spies/special forces? Is her great task to distroy the remants of the dead god king's coruption, to seak it out, root it out and distroy it utterly? Rose heals life, Esmee the elf with the mind of a human man healed the corrupt god king of his immortality. IE restoring the balance to life which is death. Thus is Caden's power/duty to restore the minds and souls, the spirits/the faith of the living? Or?????
Love to see what you come up with.
John in Wauwatosa
P.S. You gave me the tip on Red Rose. This line in particular, that and her restoring the dead, black rose.
I quote.
>>
“To be honest, most of the magic is in my little Rose,†Cunedda said with a wink. “I swear the girl has become part wood nymph.â€
>>
She is now so attuned to Lily and their garden it is as if they are one. Also she made and ingested panecea unselfishly then spit it back into the dying Lily's mouth in an instinctive act of love, a love she feared she was unworthy of. As one of Celene's favored how can she not share in some small way Selene's gift, the gift of healing and of love. Thus her in esence being living panecea or at least having that power.
John in Wauwatosa
Yes!
You've pegged the four princesses very well. I knew I had telegraphed Gwyneth and Rhonwen clearly, but I wasn't sure if Carme and Laelia were coming through. You hit it exactly.
Would you believe I haven't entirely settled on where Caden will evolve? But you can think of Rose, Caden and Kiara as representing a different aspect of the triple Goddess. Rose - spring, new life. Kiara, crone, death, and Caden...
I love your interpretation of Rose, Lilly, and their garden btw.
Klara is the elf with the mostly human mind ... my oops. um bad
Lets see, the triogy as I remember from most mystical stories is maiden, queen, crone.
Duh! The former prince is the Queen, the mother to new life, the nurturer. The mother of the next maiden and thus also destined to be the future crone. Then there are the three kingdoms that once were whole as well. Plus the maiden, queen and crone are most powerful when they act together. Another parallel of what is true power, IE that of the sisters all acting together to get the kingdom working together and...? Klara the elf and Rose Red all serve Selene formally as a Cup Bearer and as a Sister of Selene. Will our former prince take up a formal title related to a rigious order of Selene?
My head is spinning now. Better sleep.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
So many revelations
I see you two weren't wasting time while I was at uni. :)
Pity you left so little for me to discuss. For example, the carrier pigeons are supposed to be flying back to the kingdom of Parasia - and that will serve as a warning. If I was one of their handlers, I would have also made sure I had several distinct locations where they would live in, and only sent them to one country from a single rookery. This way when they came I would have known from where exactly.
And that is the mistake the Butcher of the Blacks made. Even the empty-messaged carrier pigeons are sign - of distress or of death. Had he been smarter he would have killed all those pigeons on spot and was done with it. No warning, no clue, no salvation.
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Or send fake messages with the pidgeons
Thinik the film The Pidgeon that Saved Rome.
Agree the muderous spy master was/is a fool in releasing the birds. The killing? A capured spy MIGHT talk a dead one, not much. -- snicker --
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
Duty and Destiny - Part 6
Ah! so the Kingdom will experience a FIRST! Looks Like Selene is using this upset to further her agenda and teach men about women.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
dwlete
this
May Your Light Forever Shine
This is so good!
I was glad to see Cunedda and Rose, and I love the way they worked to set things into motion. Now it is up to the princesses. I think the next episode will be very interesting, but I don't know if it can match this one.
Once again, you have reached into my emotions. Caden's awe and ecstasy at her meeting with Selene was palpable-I could FEEL it. Rose's gift at the end was a bit of a surprise, but it was the perfect ending to show Caden that it wasn't just a dream.
Hey, I have two guesses for Caden's name(and I'm probably wrong on both, but...). I think it might be either Valerian or Jasmine. Either would honor Rose and the Dream, and they are both beautiful names. I favor Jasmine, but hey, that's just me.
Excellent story, Armond. Just beautiful.
Love,
Wren
Lack of Logic
I somehow doesn't jive with me that just because a character is in a fantasy world that his motives are ruled by emotion rather than logic. King Rye should have realized this was one of those "Either we hang together or we HANG together" deals.
It seems odd that fantasy statesman are always more emotional than their real world/modern genre counterparts. Maybe they need to read Machiavelli and Nietzsche? Maybe only the villains read them, but then, why do they always fail?
It's SO unfair!
But then...
...where would be the drama if Othello, MacBeth and King Lear acted rationally? In fact, that is where the tension arises with the audience. We see them act this way and we want to scream out 'don't do this', but they do!
Ah yes...my father the King!
yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself;
Yea, may he yet increase in self-control
as he taketh his Inderal and Cymbalta.
Dio vi benedica tutti
Con grande amore e di affetto
Andrea Lena
Love, Andrea Lena
Confession time, Andrea...
...if you go to chapter 19 in this posting, you will see a conversation between the two sentries, Francisco and Barnardo. I ...erm ...reworked the opening lines of Hamlet to fit the story:
Ber. Who’s there?
Fran. Nay, answer me; stand, and unfold yourself.
Ber. Long live the king!
Fran. Bernardo?
Ber. He.
Fran. You come most carefully upon your hour.
Ber. ’Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco.
Fran. For this relief much thanks; ’tis bitter cold,
And I am sick at heart.
Ber. Have you had quiet guard?
Fran. Not a mouse stirring.
McBeth
But McBeth did act rationally. He just lacked one piece of key information: he didn't know the prophecy was a pre-destined paradox.
Technically, the crones told him the truth. So you can't fault McBeth for believing them.