“What if the Bad Guys Had Won?”
Guest post by Deby Fredericks
That question is the basis for my high fantasy novella series, Minstrels of Skaythe. Three hundred years ago, the cruel mage Dar-Gothull seized power after taking down his rivals one by one. Since then, he’s reshaped everything in his own terrible image. Skaythe is an upside-down world, where merciless strength is “good” and caring about others is “bad.”
In creating this setting, I wanted to challenge some of the standard assumptions in fantasy. Our great legends tell us that freedom from tyranny can only be won in battle. Or that some sort of “chosen one” will lead an army to rescue the people. Even in small matters, we are told we must fight for what we want or need.
Personally, I question that warfare makes anything better. So I set out to explore ways that people of good conscience might resist a despot without resorting to violence. My heroes travel as minstrels. Music and dance, juggling and puppetry are their weapons. Rather than fighting to overthrow Dar-Gothull’s regime, they try to comfort the suffering of the people, even if only for a short time. For this crime they are branded as renegades and hunted throughout the land.
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Dancer in the Grove of Ghosts
“He’s dead. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Mortally wounded, Cylass is abandoned on the battlefield by comrades who would just as soon have him out of the way. But as he waits for death, a strange savior appears. The dancer, Tisha, heals him with her forbidden magic, but also draws the wrath of his cruel former lord.
Soon guardsman and renegade mage are on the run. Will Cylass help Tisha, as she helped him? Or will he do the smart thing, and turn her over to the vicious Count Ar-Dayne?
Illustrations by Tithi Luadthong.
An opinion of a guest of The Loveshade Family does not necessarily reflect the views of the family.
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Amazon e-book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZXLHC62
Other e-book formats:
https://draft2digital.com/book/496360
I loved the first book of this series, and look forward to reading this one! My review of the first book, “The Tower in the Mist,” is at https://loveshade.org/blog/2019/05/09/the-tower-in-the-mist-review/
How nice of you to say! Thanks for hosting me, Alden.
That does sounds different! Do you have to read the first book first?
Not, each one is independent, although they will be richer if you understand the full context together.
Thanks for asking, Dharma.
I just bought the book the first one was marvelous!
This years’ Gathering at the Grove is called The Slack Gathering. It celebrates women’s suffrage, and those people of 100 years ago are gone now. Maybe we could also call it the Grove of Ghosts? Or Grove Dancers?
https://discordia.fandom.com/wiki/Grove_Gathering
Thanks for the kind words, Miley. I have no trademark on “grove” or “ghosts,” so do as you will!
I have no objection to having two names; I can always revise my poster (or make a second one). We could probably discuss that in more detail in The Grove Gathering Group.
Name one case where the “good guys” won without violence.
That is part of what I explore in this story. I hope you’ll take a look, Gremlin.
Thanks for asking. Personally, I found the use of nonviolent resistance in the first book to be believable (I haven’t read the new book yet, but plan to as my “reward” after I finish a book proposal of my own). These articles might give you a good start on what has happened historically; it might be interesting to compare this to what happens in the books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_revolution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance
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