Argh, I say!
But first... Happy happy to
mongo42! Many happy returns of the day, my friend!
And then... you know what's aggrevating? Figuring out the main driving force for a story's main character... when you're about 70% of the way into it.
You know what's excellent? Figuring out the main driving force for a story's main character... before you've finished it.
Finally, Sia's got a reasonable, solid reason for embarking on her quest... because it starts out as something much more reasonable for her to begin. And more than that, a reason for continuing it, as it clearly becomes something that should be way, way outside her abilities.
Now, I just need to completely re-write the start of this darn thing. Which is OK (ish), because I've been wanting to de-shuffle it from flash-back laced, to contiguous.