Heretic Spellblade 4 - Ch1 - 3
Added 2021-11-20 02:00:03 +0000 UTCAnd we're off. This batch is posted together be
Comments
Vala is Nathan's first Champion from his original timeline. She showed up briefly in the first chapter of Book 1, and has gotten a few sparing mentions in the books. I'll try to bring her up in one of the other chapters to remind readers.
K.D. Robertson
2021-12-01 01:02:51 +0000 UTCStill not quite sure if Vala was in the previous book or not, but she seems somewhat familiar.
hawkshe .
2021-12-01 00:33:48 +0000 UTCYeah I remember the 4, but couldn’t remember when Nathan had handed a stone to Vera, so it was either 3 or 4, but there was no info on how many stones Tharban has/had.. or whether the difference between 3 stones and 2 stones is the same as the difference between 1 stone and 0 stones. No criticism intended, but I thought about in the shoving scene and this shined a bright light on it. Thanks very much
Jeff Ford
2021-11-22 22:38:42 +0000 UTCAs you suspect, the binding stones (plus experience) do increase a Bastion's power. I think I've implied it before with a few comments in the books (Book 1 has a comment that the binding stones passively strengthen Bastions, among other things). Nathan had four when he bumped into Tharban (Gharrick Pass, Castle Forselburg, Fort Taubrum, and Tartus), which is why he was able to no sell Tharban. But you're right that this is a good chance to spell it out. Somebody else brought this up regarding the Tharban shoving scene in Heretic 3 as well.
K.D. Robertson
2021-11-22 02:47:21 +0000 UTCI think the way Tharban defeats Oliver may add some inconsistency. I mean you’ve never really specified what added to a bastions power, but there are lots of hints that it’s the number of binding stones. When Nathan and his father met earlier in the series it was made clear that the two are at least close in power with each other, but Tharban completely punked Oliver. It may be required (if this was your intent) to specify that like champion gems, the number of binding stones multiplies the bastions power somehow. Not sure how else you can show that with two stones Nathan can stop from being shoved by his dad, but at a single stone Oliver breaks his hand on Tharban’s face.
Jeff Ford
2021-11-22 01:56:58 +0000 UTCSo there actually is an internal dating system, but it's only referenced at the very start of Book 1 and never afterward. I considered using it during Book 3, but couldn't find a suitable way to insert it, so stuck to referring to the passing of seasons instead. In short, the calendar starts from the date that Omria disappeared, and Book 1 starts in April 407 OA (Nathan finds a map with that year). Book 2 ends in early 408 OA (likely March/April), and Book 3 runs from 408 OA to October 409 OA.
K.D. Robertson
2021-11-21 02:31:00 +0000 UTCTharban does get to play a major role in the book, and the events of his failed coup are very important. I'm making use of it in a similar way that I did the fact that I forgot about Ciana in Book 2, and simply weaving it into the narrative. Using him in place of the archdukes ends up much cleaner, particularly as the book's overall plot plays out.
K.D. Robertson
2021-11-21 02:19:09 +0000 UTCAs Ryuuma said, it's about the design being busy/cluttered. The grammar's a little ambiguous, so I'll tidy it up in the final version.
K.D. Robertson
2021-11-21 02:16:55 +0000 UTC"Incredibly busy" here means it's cluttered with too many different elements - you've got the helmet, the cat ears, the various tails, and then also the wings, all on a single crest.
Ryuuma
2021-11-20 21:22:38 +0000 UTCAgreed. I'm kinda confused as to how Alice knows about the mirror though, considering that it seemed to be fairly personal.
Anon_Anon
2021-11-20 06:11:41 +0000 UTC"Nathan disliked this for many reasons, not least of which being that the wings made it incredibly busy." Was it supposed to be incredibly [something else]? I don't see why the wings would make it busy.
Anon_Anon
2021-11-20 06:10:57 +0000 UTCIt's mentioned that the mirror (which Nathan has the pair of from his mother) is the same as the mirror he gets from Alice, so it's a two-way connection. Charlotte will likely try and use it to directly contact and manipulate Nathan given how she's written here.
Ryuuma
2021-11-20 04:06:58 +0000 UTCTo be honest, I was a little confused at first, because I forgot who Vala was and thought this was Vera instead. As for the archdukes, I feel conflicted. I thought they were okay as villains because they were largely unknown as characters previously, whereas Tharban felt particularly neutered following the events of HS3 when he tries his coup earlier. Now, this helps serve as making Tharban feel more like a real threat, especially his treatment of bizarro-Nathan, but I still feel like he needs to show more to be personally threatening, as opposed to being able to out-maneuver Nathan, which I felt the archdukes might be able to do.
Ryuuma
2021-11-20 04:04:29 +0000 UTCA few thoughts. Loving the interactions with the twins. They are idiots but the dynamic is fun. Second, yay Vala I was anticipating her appearance. Great to see. Third I whole heartedly agree that a pair of archdukes is relatively not minor threat, but when you compare it to a cabal of Bastions who have been kept out of the reins of power thinking well why shouldn’t they be the ones in charge. That works even better. It’s believable and a credible threat. Fourth really wondering what’s going on with charlotte and the mirror that keeps popping up. There is significance there and it’s a fun mystery. Suggestion/feedback. I know it’s to late on this book series but I think an internal dating system would be helpful. Something whenever there is a time jump it indicates when it is. In herittic blade it could be year zero since empires founding or something, just the books cover enough of a time span I feel it would help keeping track of what happens when. Plus it’s a lil bit of extra world building which is always good in epic fantasy series.
Direwolf1618
2021-11-20 03:38:20 +0000 UTC
