Seth
writes . . .
As
promised, we’re chatting with three fascinating people today – Dante, Kerran
and Ke’arhra from:
Welcome to Today In
Shenaya you guys.
As
Dante is the commander of the city Illamar, a town surrounded by hostile desert
where most of the action takes place, I think it’s only proper that we kick off
with him. So Dante, can you give our readers some idea of the size of your town
– how many people live there?
Dante: “Seth, It’s a modest city of
roughly five thousand people. The city itself is divided into four main
sections, with the central square at its heart. Originally it seems they – by
that I mean the original builders - meant to have equal sized sections of the
city, but it turns out that the northern section is the largest, the southern
is the smallest, and the other two are about the same. Geographically each
section holds roughly the same amount of territory, but people have come to
favor the northern side of the city. The square is full of shops and people
flock there all day long. Almost out of the main square is where you'll find
the Black Rose Tavern; if you stop in tell Nell I sent you!”
Seth: Will do, as I hear the food is great. Which
brings me to my next question. You’ve been cut off from the rest of the world
for five years. How did it feel to be so isolated?
Dante: “At first I wasn't too
concerned. But as the years started to go by, our situation was becoming more
and more urgent; and we (the council and I) had decided to hide the seriousness
of our predicament from the people as much and as long as possible. It was
something that weighed heavy on my mind constantly. I never minded being
separated from the outer cities. But to be cut off from supplies we had come to
rely on was alarming. When you live in a desert, there is only so much you can
provide. And when you have a large group of people concentrated in one area,
there are many challenges to keeping everyone cared for. It's something I
certainly hope I never go through again.”
Seth: A solution came from a most unlikely source
– a tribe of pretty scary Desert People you didn’t even know existed. Now, you’re
clearly a very level-headed man, how did it feel to be totally overwhelmed by
the Desert People’s magic?
Dante: “You said it best - it was
overwhelming. That is the first and only time in my life when logic failed me.
How does one rationalize magic? You can't! It is what it is and you are
completely at its whim. Extremely unnerving experience. And to spend so much
time with such powerful people around me, constantly using their power...well,
I'm very grateful to be back home in my city where things make sense. I respect
the Desert People, I admire them, I hope to be able to call some of them my
friends, but I could not live in close proximity to them.”
Seth: *smiling* I kind of don’t blame you! But
there was someone in Illamar who reacted quite differently to the Desert People
– Kerran.
Kerran: *grins, nodding*
Seth: “Kerran, you’ve an adventurous, almost
restless spirit. Didn’t you ever want to leave Illamar to go exploring the
world beyond the desert?”
Kerran: *looking surprised* “No. I
never had a reason to leave. I didn't like the traders much; they were dirty,
always traveling endlessly. Some people, the Commander included, loved
listening to their tales from other cities, but that never appealed to me.
Until I met Ke'arhra, I thought I was content with my life.”
Seth: *nods* “Yeah. All it takes is one woman to
turn the world upside down.”
Kerran: “You’ve got that right.”
Seth: So tell me, although destiny is important
to the Desert People, how did you feel when you were thrust into the role of
the ‘prophesied one’ without your approval or choice?” *aside to the readers*
Anyone who’s read Pledged, will know
that when that happened to me, I didn’t react well at all.
Kerran: It was very uncomfortable. I
knew they were expecting a hero, and I knew I was going to let them down. It
was very confusing, because I actually cared what these strangers thought of
me. It was like being in some strange dream. The things I spent most of my life
fighting for suddenly didn't matter anymore. For a while it was like there was
a stranger living inside me- and that was deeply disturbing.
Seth: *smiling* I think the real motivator was
Ke’arhra. Initially you hated her, so if destiny had not intervened would you
have chosen to be with her?
Kerran: Right from the moment I first
saw her, Ke'arhra was different from any other woman I've ever met. I hated her
because, well, she provoked me. She played me. And I really did hate her for
that. If she hadn't been so damned irritating I would have been very attracted
to her. If we met under different circumstances, I would have pursued her.
Given what things were, if destiny hadn't interfered, I think she would have
killed me. And I would have died hating her.”
Seth: Okay, this is where I hand over to Erin,
‘cause she’d kill me if I stole this moment from her.
Erin: *ginning*. I’ve got Seth well trained!
Hello, Ke’arhra, since reading your story I’ve been dying to know something
about you. When you first met Kerran you had very little time for him. Would
you have chosen to be with him if destiny had not intervened?
Ke’arhra: *gives
Erin a steely look* Based on what I knew of him when I met him, no - I would
not have chosen him. I thought he had no part in the prophecy and was therefore
useless to me. As arrogant as he was, I would most certainly have killed him.
Even knowing it to be Aulani's will, I still resisted and did not want him at
first.
Erin: Well, on that cryptic note, I think we’ll
leave it there. If you’d like to know more about Dante, Kerran and Ke’arha then
you can enter our GIVEAWAY to win a SIGNED copy of The Waking Dream.
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