11 Jul 2019

The Elf's Prisoner - Commentary 36

Sibling rivalry, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 36.

I realized that while I had the villain introduced, I didn't have a way to let the heroes know who is the immediate mastermind.  Sessarine had a few appearances, but the way the plot was going, it'd be some time before Kazi et al found out anything, if ever.  Silver Trailings was introduced to be a trade town, so beings from any number of nations and cultures could be here, which helps with Sessarine.  I just needed a way to make a connection to the heroes.

Enter Biala.  I introduced him with the rest of Jyslyn's siblings, more to flesh her out than anything else.  But, much like Mara in The Devil You Know, once introduced, Biala became useful.  First, he's a link to Jyslyn's past, one that isn't sympathetic to her.  Second, while Valenza is busy consolidating her new role as family matriarch and Tereska is busy trying to not die by her sister's hand, Biala has spare time.  He just needed a motive to join Sessarine in her plot.

Biala's motives comes from wanting to destroy his society to rebuild it in his/the Defiler's image.  Valenza wants power, but she doesn't want to destroy the power structure to get it.  What's the point of striving and strategic murdering if society is left in ruins and all she gets to rule is a half a dozen vermin?  Biala hasn't planned that far ahead.  But he has a plan and Sessarine is a useful pawn.

Just don't tell Sessarine that.

Obviously, the roster of deities expanded in this chapter just from necessity.  The Defiler is a deity of destruction and corruption.  Followers tend to leave things in worse shape when they leave.  Destroying the Sundered Chasm?  Almost too easy, except that the matriarchs there hold on to power like a koala holds on to an eucalyptus tree.  However, the ensuing chaos will send ripples through society, destabilizing it further.  If successful, there may not be much left of the Sundered Chasm.

When Jyslyn was skulking around to learn magic, she realized she needed some practical spells.  Spells that weren't direct, to get around magic resistance, helped earlier.  Jyslyn also planned on being caught at some point.  She has a spell to unlock chains and manacles.  However, given where she's learning magic, spells tend to be rough on the recipient.  The manacles needed to close tighter before releasing.  This goes back to the idea of special effects for spells.  Just as Kazi needs to use light as a motif, Jyslyn can't really use magic on herself without causing pain.  Once the voyage to stop a massive chaotic war is over, she can start learning new ways to cast spells, ones that don't hurt when cast on herself.  Her rod, as mentioned before, is a way to channel magic without burning herself out.  She can cast without it, but she becomes the path for mana.

A new direction, in The Elf's Prisoner Chapter 37.
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, Solo.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, the balkanization of television.

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