Cynus

From the moment I was born, I was free, but not every freedom I enjoyed was an advantage. I was free from the expectations of my mother and father, as neither could raise me. Many times I have observed that parents often wish their children to live lives which closely match their own while somehow avoiding their mistakes. I did not have such pressures upon me, nor did I gain the benefit of their wisdom and experience. My aunt took on the role of my parent, but her expectations were of a diff

During my youth, I received an extensive education in a wide variety of subjects. My father believed it was important to expose me to many different disciplines, to prepare me for the tasks I would face later in life. He had anticipated being there for much longer, to guide me and help me unlock my potential, but unfortunately that was not the case. Still, he introduced me to magic. He taught me about respect, and the integrity required of a king. I was forced to fill his shoes at an early a

If someone had told me in my childhood which path my life would take, I would've never believed them. My reaction would've changed depending on when I was told, for I would've been more receptive to some aspects at one point than I was at another. I believe it is that way with all things. We can only receive the truths we are ready to receive. If you had told me before the age of ten that I was destined to fight demons, it would've filled me with excitement. I was not a cautious child, despi

Chapter 15 I had not thought to ever be reunited with my loved ones. A choice I made when I was still a young woman, sick and frail but full of spiritual devotion, seemed to put me on a different path. I left behind my husband and child and traveled into the wilderness, to seek some clarity for a world I did not understand. There were expectations of me in the world, not from Kaeral, though he had the greatest grounds to expect me to take a different course. The expectations came from th

Times were different then, and Aika was no pacifist bound by oaths to do no harm. She was once a hunter, and a good friend to Ghayle and Tagren in the days of their Cataclysm.

Thank you, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! You will learn soon enough how Tagren chooses his fate, and I'm pretty certain you'll like it.

This is quite possibly my second favorite chapter in the book. I want to say that my favorite one is seventeen, but I could be wrong on that number. This chapter surprised me in a few different ways, most notably the I had no idea Naxthul was going to hug Grim either. I'm really pleased with how it worked out though. Also, isn't Telzath amazing? I had no idea he was this cool when I first wrote him.

I'm sure Bradeth would appreciate your sentiments On Gobrak's behalf. I think of all the death scenes I've ever written, this is one of my favorites. It reminds me a little bit of one of the very first ones I ever wrote, back in "Rumors of War". Not to spoil anything over there, but this aspect of meeting death with this frame of mind has resonated with me as a person for a long time.

These are excellent questions, of course. I have pondered the nature of immortality for a long time, which might come from my belief in reincarnation, and the thought that I have that existence itself is endless, though states may potentially change. I don't think any of us would remain quite the same after a few millennia of life, but who would we become? And yes, Kaeral is indeed one of the Chosen. :-)

This world is full of uncertainty, and we long to bring order to it. When we see chaos, we fear it, and believe it will destroy us. I lived through several hurricanes in my youth, and despite the wisdom of my elders, who told me to stay inside during the storm, I went out to meet it. The swirling chaos of rain and wind was a challenge to my own fear. I had to overcome it, to prove that the order and discipline within me were enough to withstand the storm. Had I understood the storm better, p

Tradition holds the key to understanding where one came from, but it cannot be allowed to dictate where one will go. In my lifetime I faced challenges my people had not encountered for thousands of years, and I was forced to adapt. Had I buried myself in tradition, I do not know if my people would've survived. And yet, there was much to gain from the old ways. They held us together, giving us a foundation upon which to build. One should not abandon tradition simply because it is tradition, a

There is a demon inside all of us, its nature changing along with its host. I lived among demons my entire life and did not see them until I had reached middle age. Some of those demons were hidden out of sight by magic, and some by nothing but my own blindness and ignorance. I've been told that war brings out the ugliness of a person, and perhaps in some cases that is true. If the war is unjust, and the soldiers performing actions which go contrary to their natures, then it will leave them

Your summation about war is wonderful. Couldn't agree more, and would potentially expound on how I feel about each point you brought up were this a slightly different forum. But I wouldn't be able to be brief if I did that, heh. One of the goals with this book series was to try to maintain as many complexities to characters as I could. I wanted everyone to have layers, which is probably how Grim came into existence in the first place. I've mentioned this before, though I don't remember where, so it may not have been seen, but Grim did not exist in the original outline of the series. He came about by me trying to give layers to the scene in chapter 3, I believe it is, in Shadow Honor, when Styx is first thrown into the cell with the gladiators. Then Grim just kept popping back up, getting more layers as a side character until suddenly became the core of the story. Krythe ended up taking a bit of that journey, gaining layers as he continued to appear, and his path surprised me a bit too. But that's one of my favorite things that happens when I write, is when my story surprises me. There are more heroics to come, I promise.

Thank you! Can't wait to see what you think about the rest of the battle! And yes, please feel free to send love my way. I could use the good vibes.

You can learn a great deal from the choices people make. It always amazed me how much you can learn about a person just by the liquor they choose to drink. Some don't drink at all, and you can learn a lot from that too. And you can often be wrong, and that's just because of the choices you make. Judgment is a choice; our assumptions about a person's character speak volumes about our own. This is why I decided early on that hatred had no place in my heart. It's a foolish emotion, even when di

I think this might be my favorite comment you've left so far. Your observations on history and the future are on point, in my opinion, and I greatly appreciate them. I think Prism labeling Grim a mass murderer is symptomatic of his rose-colored view of Grim's nature, which he has always had. In many ways, Prism's evolution is about coming to terms with the reality of Grim, no matter how much he loves him. There is a certain shock to learning that someone you love has done terrible things, after all, even if they may have been done in the name of what you might even consider the greater good. We must reconcile with the totality of those with whom we wish to spend our lives, if we want that bond to be as firm as possible. That was the nature of the Elrok ceremony mentioned by Telzath as well. Janlynd was, in fact, the first of the Chosen. She was the first one who chose to give herself fully to the future of the world once the Trial had begun. "perhaps the greatest irony is the final demon.battle has been orchestrated by a simple, patient fisherman." - Somewhere, Tagren just smiled at this.

Gobrak would've told me I'm a fool, and I would deserve it. The way the world changes surprises me at times, even though I know that change is the most common law of all. It is the only thing which guides us to the next moment, that which produces life and ends it in equal measure. When I forget this lesson, I hear Gobrak's voice in my thoughts, and I remember I am foolish. An Elrok Fletcher must undergo many years of careful study to obtain that cherished rank. I myself was well into my fou

Good observations on Grimfaeth and Naxthul's conversation. And I'm glad you appreciate the accuracy of Grim's assessment. I think that was a large part of what I was trying to show here, and I'm glad it resonates.

Grimfaeth is rather intelligent, so you may be right.

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I have often relied upon an old parable of an apple tree, one which grew in the temple grounds of the monastery where I learned to become myself. There are as many lessons to be learned from that single tree as there are fruits it has borne across all its seasons of life, and all the generations of apple trees which have sprouted from its seeds. How much then can we learn from a single life? Are not our lives at least as complex as that of an apple tree? I believe there is no end to the numb

The lengths my people would go to, to justify their actions, always surprised me. No matter how many times I saw them turn a blind eye to the evils in the world, I still believed that they would pay attention the next time. But that was never the case; not while I was alive. Not for most of them, anyway, but the few who did pay attention changed the world. First, they had to change themselves, and that took time. If others had made the effort to change, it wouldn't have mattered how long it

I find the notion of purposely choosing my own assassin to be quite comforting, actually. It gives a measure of control over your own fate. Maybe I'm just a control freak though? "Grim had two obsessions which me mistook for one" - Great analysis. Love it. I won't speak to Neredos and Veil just yet. Good questions on Odiran. His motivations have always been a bit complex. I'll mark these down as things to go over at the end, should there remain anything to clear up. And yes, Grim would've definitely healed Odiran.

I don't know why, but I just couldn't leave Krythe alone, and killing him felt wrong somehow. He was simply being loyal to Salidar, whom he genuinely believed was alive and the target of a family coup. I liked writing this interaction between him and Styx. There was nothing particularly nefarious to the fall of Kirra's family. It was simply a matter of timing. Their house was often beset with misfortune when it came to offspring, and usually only one made it to adulthood and had a child of their own to pass on the lineage. When Kirra was a child, his parents died of unfortunate yet unnatural causes, and he was left orphaned and alone. A long time "friend" of the family, Grembal, offered to take Kirra in, and Kirra's supposed wealth (Of which there was little left) was put into taking care of his needs. Well, to reveal much here would be improper, I think, and constitute a major spoiler as to what all these things are for. Suffice to say, I think you'll like the ending, and I think you'll like what's going on when you find out. I did not defend this well in the text itself, but there are two separate instances I used to justify the Gor's sudden appearance here. One is in Shadow Honor, when Kirra sees a sign in the sky about a meteorite (I believe), and knows that change is coming as his Gor blood tells him so. In Tragic Genius, there's a bit of an explanation as to the Gor seeing signs just before the cataclysmic beginning of the Trial and getting their people to safety. I wrote this part with the intention of the Gor arriving due to similar circumstances. They saw signs, and knew that the demons were about to come back.

There are no more questions in this world than there are answers for them. Both are infinite, limited only by your imagination. Correct answers only exist for correct questions, and if one is unable to ask a question appropriately, one should expect diverse and potentially contradictory answers. This is something I found difficult to accept at first, though over the centuries I've learned to see things from diverse perspectives as a result. I knew what it was to be a Fedain, and through Pris