Book 4 of Sons of Destiny
Thoughts from…
Note: These thoughts contain spoilers if you have not already read “The Song.”
Saber: He knew Kelly was smart—he definitely feels pride in his wife—but that stunt she pulled when the Council came to the island left him ambivalent. It was clever of her to hedge all those conditions on Duke Finneg’s challenge so that she had a chance of winning. And the fact that she successfully backed down the most powerful mages in Katan with logic and sheer, magicless force of will—how could he not be proud of her? But if she ever throws herself into danger like that again, he’s tying her to their bed! Hmm…that might be fun even if she doesn’t… Unfortunately, they have only a year and a day to raise an entire kingdom on the Isle, or suffer the wrath of an embarrassed empire. They’ll have to save the fun for later; right now, he and his wife need to organize their growing family into something that can build a successful new nation.
Kelly: Note to self, either learn swordwork, or stay out of physical fights. There are times when she doubts her ability to pull off this ‘queen’ thing…but they’re all committed, now. If they don’t pull it off, Katan will invade, and likely kill everyone. That’s a very big responsibility, with a good chunk of its weight resting squarely on her. She was the one who declared herself a queen, so it’s up to her to take responsibility for that claim. Thankfully, she has Saber with her, and the rest of their growing family to help shoulder the load. Doyles don’t hesitate to roll up their sleeves, after all…and it looks like her Nightfall family is turning out to be the same way.
Wolfer: Incipient kingdom? Wonderful. Importing settlers is all well and good, but someone is going to have to figure out how to feed the newcomers. That means clearing more land for pastures and farms, reclaiming the old orchards, and resurrecting the old harbor city. For years before their exile, Wolfer knew he’d likely wind up as his brother’s castellan, helping to manage the Corvis estate. Nightfall is a bit bigger, and a lot less established, but it’s a task he knows he can help with. Let his twin concern himself with bringing in the people; Wolfer will see that they’re fed.
Alys: Thank the Gods her cousin is dead! With Barol gone, the spells shackling her to her late uncle’s accursed spells have dissolved, along with the implanted amulet shielding her from them. For the first time since her parent’s unexpected death, Alys feels free to truly live! Yes, there are the worries of creating a kingdom lying in wait for them, and she has no idea who or what they’ll find for a Patron Deity, but those are merely challenges, not a looming spectre of evil shadowing all the happiness in her life. The sun is shining brightly, the afternoon is balmy…and she still has The Citizen Chickens to feed. Ah, well, nothing’s ever completely perfect; if it were, life would be boring…
Dominor: Kelly still hasn’t shown him how to make others “eat dirt”…but the sight of her pinning a Councilor of Katan to the floor—in front of most of the people who chose to reject him from attaining a place among them—was something he will never regret witnessing. The Council will never, ever allow him to join their numbers, but that old ambition has been supplanted by an even greater one, helping his brothers and sisters-in-law raise an entire new kingdom. He won’t just be following the policies laid down over hundreds of years, he’ll be making those policies…in between chasing down his wife to make sure she rests and gets enough to eat. She and their future child come first.
Serina: Pregnancy stinks. The child itself isn’t the problem, nor is her attempt at healing the problems plaguing the other continent. No, this whole nausea thing is making it hard for her to concentrate on her formulas, and that is a borderline disaster! Not to mention there is now an official need to formulate some sort of banking system, and import/export taxes to calculate, and they have a serious lack of actual, hands-on cash, so coins will have to be found and reminted, and…ohhh, she shouldn’t have eaten such acidic fruit for breakfast…
Evanor: All fathers feel the urge to lock up their children, it’s perfectly natural…but the good fathers don’t. Usually. Instant fatherhood—Ev honestly thought Dom would be the first father among them, and yet here he is, next-father to a nine-year-old. Not to mention husband to the boy’s mother. Evanor doesn’t delude himself into thinking that being a husband and a father will be easy—domestic bliss requires constant awareness of the details–but it is worthwhile. Some of his attention will be caught up in helping his family turn their home into a nation, but he finally has what he has always wanted, a family of his own.
And he has his voice back. Never again does he want to go without it. Ev knows he can survive without it, but it had left him as less than himself. And to have a wife who shares his affinity for music, that was more than he could have asked for. If he can find the time between being a husband and father, and helping start a new kingdom, he’ll have to get Mariel into his workroom to record duets onto those brass disks in his enchanted music box idea…
Mariel: Well, this island is certainly something. Threats from outsiders, her wayward child being kidnapped, violence and bloodshed in the heart of her new home…if the people in this family weren’t so nice, she’d be a lot more concerned about her and her son’s safety. But leaving for a safer land would mean leaving Evanor behind. Having lost one husband involuntarily, she isn’t about to volunteer to lose another one.
And what a husband he is: attentive, loving, caring, sensitive to her needs. Even with Milon, whom she also loved dearly, half of her first husband’s attention was always attuned to the Gods, the rest portioned out between her, their son, and the needs of the nunnery he protected. True, Evanor has responsibilities in this burgeoning new kingdom—and she respects him all the more for it—but he clearly wants to make her and young Mikor priorities in his life. She has her own responsibilities as a Healer, true, but family is every bit as important to her, too. With her late husband’s foreseen promise of a long life ahead of them, Mariel is more than ready to help Evanor make it a happy one.
Trevan: YESS!! It’s finally his turn! Any day now, his woman will come to the island, and he’ll be able to court her, and claim her, and finally stop envying his brothers and sisters-in-law for their happiness. Any day… She shouldn’t hesitate to rush, if necessary…he’ll promise to catch his future bride if she fears she might trip… Anyone? Hellooo…? Any day, now! Seriously, Trev is really, really tired of being alone…!
Rydan: More people. On the Isle. More problems, more expectations, more pressures…more of a need to hide. Or scream. Because it looks like each of his brothers is meeting fates in the order they were born. There is only one more brother, his own twin Trevan, standing between him and his Prophecied fall…and the only thing he reigns over is the most powerful resource they have.
Koranen: With four of his brothers married, he knows his turn is coming. It could always come a little faster, of course…but in the meantime, they have a nation to create. People to invite for settling, homes to create for their housing…enemies to thwart, just in case any more decide to come visiting. Lots of work for a Pyromancer, in other words. Now, if only his newlywedded brothers and sisters-in-law would remember to stop flaunting their good fortune in his forced-abstinence face so much, he’d be able to enjoy his life a little bit more.
Morganen: Four down, and four to go. Of course, his long-distance courtship of Hope is going well—if he ignores the teasing from his brothers—and it looks like it won’t be long before he’ll be dealing with Trevan’s incoming bride, now that Evanor is settled. Rydan will be the tricky one, of course, being so prickly and reclusive. But the Gods prodded Their Seer into foreseeing it happening, so at least Morg knows it will happen, if not entirely how it will happen just yet. Then Koranen’s bride will need to be found, his twin’s happiness secured. After that, it’ll be his turn. Yes, this was the halfway point of completing Seer Draganna’s last Prophecy. The part about Nightfall becoming an independent kingdom was unexpected, of course, but Draganna’s prediction isn’t the only one affecting his family. So this is the halfway point in his vigil over his family; a small breather, a chance to rest and regroup, then he’ll start playing Matchmaker once again…