DESTINY'S CONFLICT: Progress Update

Clansman

Clansman

Lochaber Axeman, QC
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The last update on Janny Wurts' website has her past the 200-page count on the manuscript for this, the penultimate book in The Wars of Light and Shadow, namely The Sword of the Canon: Destiny's Conflict.
I won't speculate on release time, as from what I have gleaned from the author's site is that she is writing very carefully in order to ensure that the timelines and the continuity is just right. With all of the detail and ten big fat books, I imagine it would be exceptionally easy to hit a real clanger of a continuity error.

I am very much looking forward to this book, as it should be all denouement. It will be good to see some explosions, and also the set up for the final arc/volume: Song of the Mysteries.
 
She posted today. Page 235 in draft manuscript, actually, and into Chapter Set IV. This means three chapter sets completed already (one chapter set=one big chapter, two smaller chapters, followed by a "triplet" of paragraphs).

This is great!
 
Procrastinator, you and that red pen! Next you'll be drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa!;)
 
If anybody would like to guess what draft page number Janny is up to currently, we have guessing game going on over on the Paravia site. Janny sees a lot of interest she might give us an update, or even a snippet.
 
No comments about Janny's latest painting of Arithon? I should think this is the character art she would have done for the cover of Destiny's Conflict.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...09331879.57196.260538524057641&type=1&theater

Pretty sure Janny has also finished the painting she did of Arithon for Stormed Fortress, I noticed what was probably that one next to Don's work area in a recent video. Janny would not frame it unless it was finished.
http://youtu.be/LrHmomFG6lc

Janny might have started the painting she would have done for Initiate's Trial as well, so although she has been busy doing conventions and other things, she has still been working on things we would like to see.
 
Arrgh! that sneak preview previewed almost nothing. Janny obviously chose the most innocuous bit she could excise, and it was notably short.

I HATE WAITING FOR GREAT BOOKS! I mean, I really, really do.
 
Well Janny did not want to provide any spoilers, all the other sneak peaks seem to have been as informative.

Despite missing the action of summer, autumn does not seem that far along in the book. Elaira still seems to be on her way to Althain Tower, Tarens still has his beat up face, and Cosach still has it in for Dakar, and is only going to be even angrier when he wakes up. If Arithon thought the Caithwood clans custom of guest welcome had fallen to shame, at least they did not seem as bad as Cosach's version of it. Seems they might be blaming Elaira for part of what happened to Arithon, otherwise why would they be hunting her? Their attitude seems a lot different to what the clans thought back in Traitor's Knot, where she was trusted to traverse the free wilds on her own, and given guest welcome by Barach. Cosach is a direct descendent of Barach's, I would think he should still be honouring that guest welcome unless he thinks Elaira broke faith.

And if Dakar is back in Halwythwood, he seems to have deserted Lysaer pretty quick, maybe the action over in Tysan got too hot for him? Assuming Lysaer was still planning on going that way.
 
Even with "the sum of [Jieret's] knowledge" and his lasting commitment to his leige imparted, how does Tarens know Elaira well enough to speak to her ability to not ripple the land's flux? Or maybe this knowledge comes from his ties to Arithon now?

I guess we could take this on faith as general Koriathain knowledge, imparted from Jieret (since your average crofter likely doesn't consider management of "lane flux" in his/her daily experience), but Tarens seems to be speaking as someone a little too familiar with someone he's never met.

I am guessing that the large passage of time muted guest welcome somewhat, and Cosach is the suspicious, act-first-ask-questions-later sort anyway, so maybe we're just seeing that?

As to Dakar, I made the assumption that there's a pivotal event which occurs prior to the snippet that is yet to be revealed. Maybe this is true about Tarens knowledge of Elaira, too. That's the trouble with snippets (and also why our Talespinner delights in tantalizing us!). ;)
 
Tarens had some of Arithon's memories even Arithon did not have, and Jieret would not have know before he died. I think having Jieret's Sight somehow gives him access to all Arithon's memories, when he needs them. That flux seems to be a memory recording bank, but why is it Arithon has to go to each location to get the memories back and Tarens and Jieret can just pull them up at need. Does their Sight somehow work different to all the talents Arithon has? We seem to have three groups, clanborn, townborn and royals. Right at the start Arithon commented on that, when the question of being townborn or clanborn came up, what if he was neither. So possibly the clans and their Sight and other talents could work differently, could be more in tune with the flux. What we have seen of clanborn talents so far seems to indicate they use the flux for all sorts of things. Maybe even seeing trees, unless Cosach is blind. :eek:

And why are that lot after Elaira anyway? If they cannot find her, and she can just slip past them whenever she wants, how did they know she was there in the first place?

Is Sethvir the one who is going to do the stonewalling? Has he set his dutiful little henchman Dakar up to warn the clans Elaira would be passing through and to try and stop her? Dakar does not seem to be all in agreement with the idea, but from what Cosach said it seems Dakar did send them on the wild goose chase trying to catch Elaira. And there is no way they would have know Elaira was passing through without some warning. So Dakar is not doing Elaira any favours.
 
Re Jieret having already passed the wheel, I actually had gone to check this before posting (my memory of the storyline isn't as good as yours is, Aussie, and I frequently need to reference the material). This only underscored my take on it. I agree with the variations on how in tune each is with lane flux, and royals definitely (as was seen most recently with King Eldir) have a different sight and acclimation, but given the degree of superstition and fear attributed with major flux events by the townborn and/or "suburbanites" (ie, crofters), I also think we can applaud Tarens' open mind while confirming that they wouldn't have conversations about lane flux, no? ;)

Re Elaira, my wildly unsupported guess is that Sethvir has foreseen something apocalyptic in Elaira's intentions, but is bound by the oath Asandir had to swear to the Koriathain and cannot intervene directly to intercept her from wherever she's headed...so yes, Dakar as cat's paw again.
 
I do not actually think most royal lines would have any gift of Sight, Shand's royal line was gifted with Farsight, and Mehalla's original Caithdeinen were prophets those lines were crossed when Dari was born. The Rauven mages what little we saw of them seem to have had a few new talents. The farseer who was keeping an eye on Arithon at the start of the series seemed to have had an interesting talent, he could both see Arithon and feel what he was feeling. Be interesting to see if Lysaer's ability to see Arithon when he is using shadow, develops any further.

There has not been any sign any of the other royal lines were gifted with Sight as well as their royal inheritance, at least some were paired with a caithdien who had Sight. Lysaer and Arithon are both gifted with Dari's mixed inheritance, Arithon's talents are fully wakened, Lysaers are not. Neither is a typical royal.

Most royals have their focus stones which seem to allow them to access the flux. The Koriathan also use focus stones and Traithe has been known to use crystal as well. The clans just have their talents. The Biedar also have not been seen with any crystals, and seem unlikely to use them. The Koriathan must have stolen theirs from some group we have not seen yet, like the Biedar, it would not surprise me if they followed the Koriathan to Athera, there is one place on the map Janny has told us nothing about yet, one of those settlements that never fell during the rebellion.

Likely from the direction Elaira was heading she was on her way to Althain Tower to see Sethvir about some historical details concerning the past of the koriathain, that is where the Biedar Eldest recommended she start. She must be a strong swimmer if she is planning on swimming across the bay. Such knowledge is not likely to have any effect on Arithon, who probably does not even know who Elaira is yet, so I doubt Sethvir can hide behind Asandir's oath. Maybe he will just refuse to open the door when she gets there. Or maybe he has already done that once and Elaira is returning for a rematch.
 
aussie500 said:
The Koriathan must have stolen theirs from some group we have not seen yet, like the Biedar, it would not surprise me if they followed the Koriathan to Athera, there is one place on the map Janny has told us nothing about yet, one of those settlements that never fell during the rebellion.
Click to expand...

Where, pray tell?
 
Ah, I should have been specific; my reference to "sight" here had to do with the royals' attunement to flux, not scrying. Seeing the ebb and flow of flux, not the strands of possible futures like Dari, Dakar, tienelle-influenced Arithon, etc.

And re
Such knowledge is not likely to have any effect on Arithon, who probably does not even know who Elaira is yet, so I doubt Sethvir can hide behind Asandir's oath.
Click to expand...
, I could be wrong, but I could swear that Asandir and Sethvir already had a conversation in Initiate's Trial about Elaira being too closely linked to Arithon for the Fellowship to intervene on her behalf directly because of the oath, regardless of whether he remembers her yet or not.
 
Ah! I looked up Ettinmere Settlement on the interactive map on www.paravia.com. It's in east Havish, surrounded by mountains, so pretty much cut off from the rest of Paravia. It will be interesting to see what's in store for us there.
 
She's done to the end of chapter set 7, according to her latest update. That's about half-way, judging from past books, give or take a chapter set or two.
 
A little sneak peak, getting closer it seems to the big scene. It is only the cusp of the slide to ruin though, not complete ruin or outright disaster yet. Arithon might survive a few more chapters in captivity, Lysaer wanted him to suffer first, and his misguided minions will want their confession.

It could also be the morning of ruin from the past, where Selidie finally entrapped Arithon. But Asandir seems pretty resigned to the inevitable, so I am thinking it is a current event.
 
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