Big Bang Fic: To Every Thing There Is a Season, part 3

[narniabb_mod]

Title: To Every Thing There Is a Season
Author: Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling)
Rating: PG-13ish?
Characters: Ilgamuth Tarkaan, Prince Rabadash, many OCs, several named canon characters who might as well be OCs, and various horses
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia is the intellectual property of C. S. Lewis and his estate. No money is being made from this

Comments

[rthstewart]

Oh Liz, this is so wonderful. the politics and the intrigue and it was fabulous to see Shezan and Axartha from Ilgamuth's point of view. The subtlety between them and everyone else is just terrific. The whole scene of the parlay is also great. This is a men's story, about men and war and the decision Ilgamuth makes to be Rabadash's man while still holding some small part for himself and his as yet unidentified god. But the brief appearances of Shezan and then Zubidah and her father's head, Zubidah divorcing her husband and announcing her intent to marry her uncle -- there are hardly any women but their presence is felt profoundly and strongly. Both women are terrifically memorable here.

So, in your mind, is Ilgamuth a poor poet? Or does he just lack confidence? I see him as being too critical of his own skills. He is not just a soldier, but a subtle man. Does he not see it? He vows to serve men, to help tip the balance to the son of gods and not the son of beasts. Or is he simply the soldier?

Thank you for this lovely, evocative story.

[edenfalling]

Thank you very much!

It was fun writing Shezan from Ilgamuth's point of view -- for one thing, it's a lot easier to describe what she looks like and how she moves. And I'm glad that Zubidah came across vividly. I wish I'd been able to do more with her and her family, though. There's a whole story there that Ilgamuth only sees glimpses of. I think I must bring her back in the post-HHB story, if only because I think I made an offhand reference in "Out of Season" to Rachegra and Drinachlala still arguing over taxes with the Tisroc twelve years after this rebellion and it would be tidy to go full circle and force Ilgamuth and Rabadash to resolve that issue again. (Hopefully Rabadash' inability to go to war, plus Shezan's input, will make it stick better the second time around.)

I don't think Ilgamuth is a terrible poet. He does seem to think in metaphors at times -- the honey-thick golden air after he and Kinboor kill the guard, likening the chase to an airless nightmare with an unseen monster -- but given that I would have to write any poetry he might create, and I am pretty sure I am not an especially gifted poet, I am going to put my foot down and say that he will remain an amateur at best, no matter how much confidence he gains as he grows up. *wry*