A State of Constant Repair (Sabriel fanfiction) Chapter 7

[wallmakerrelict]

Rebuilding the Old Kingdom is going to be more difficult than Sabriel and Touchstone thought. When their troubles begin to seep into their relationship, Sabriel takes a vacation to learn more about the Abhorsens and about herself.

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Comments

[almondoil]

Hello there! Thank you for your kind reply to my review. :-)

The Ninth Precint and the wormhole-like highway out of death absolutely makes sense. I never thought of it quite like that before, and with only the vague hints that Nix gave us (Touchstone repairing the Stones during the reconstruction, a gruelling task with blood spilled), it's really nice that you elaborated on the how. Sometimes it saddens me that Nix does not like to obsess with details, unlike other authors. It's great that he wants to leave it to the reader's imagination, but it smells a tad lazy to me. Haha. Good thing there's fanfiction, and awesome writers. There's so much more I want to know.

"The Mage of High Bridge," Sabriel choked out, still reeling. I swear, this part gave me goosebumps. Like the kind you get when Scarlett maintains that tomorrow is another day, or when the rioters from V for Vendetta take off their masks. Good chills!

We each had our role to play, and we did our duty. And even better, we never forgot that we were two sides of the same coin. Authority and power. Ellimere and Sameth, right there! I love how you're foreshadowing the canon.

Merida hesitated, then said, "No, thank you. In life, we left nothing unsaid." With that, her soul melted into the now-pure water and was carried swiftly downstream. Flawless. And the way Mogget shows Sabriel some respect at the end-- awww. Needless to say, I love how the story is progressing. Thanks for the update! Happy Christmas!

[wallmakerrelict]

I'm glad you liked it! Oh man, I almost wish the idea of the highway through Death had never occurred to me. I've spent the last three months re-writing it periodically and trying to make it work. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because it finally came together.

That's what I love about Garth Nix's books! You really get the feeling that there's tons of stuff going on just outside the narrative. It's so much fun to fill in with fic.

Ooh, I got those same goosebumps at the end of V for Vendetta. I adore that scene.

Ha, now I wish I could take credit for foreshadowing Ellimere and Sameth, but to be honest that didn't occur to me (though it seems obvious now). I was just trying to tie everything back to Sabriel and Touchstone. In previous chapters I went into how they miss each other, so now Merida was kind of a final reminder that the fate of the Kingdom is at stake too, and that they're stronger together than apart.

Merry Christmas to you too! It might be overly ambitious of me, but I hope to finish this fic before the end of winter break so I can get my head back into school. I only have one more chapter left to write.

[almondoil]

Hope you finish it soon! :-D

Something's been bugging me all day. Sabriel's father didn't do enough by her, not really. One would think that some lessons on Old Kingdom history's important, especially if part of that history involves you and succession (and danger!). He never even told Sabriel his *real* name. One might say it doesn't matter, as everything went fine, all's well that ends well. But... would it have hurt Sabriel to know beforehand that she's next in line to become the Abhorsen?

More on succession-- can one pass on the title voluntarily? Ie, does Sabriel have to die before Lirael can take over? If Sabriel dies really old, Lirael would be very old as well (but I guess they'd have enough descendants by then to assure a successor)... Just some random musings.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[wallmakerrelict]

That's always bothered me about Sabriel's father too. I get the feeling that he did the bare minimum by having her read the Book of the Dead and teaching her to walk in Death. It's like he was so intent on protecting her that he forgot that one day she would have to protect herself.

Oooh, that's an interesting idea about succession. I like the idea of Lirael becoming Abhorsen without Sabriel having to die.

(Yeeeee this is the best Christmas. I finally did Yuletide this year, so I woke up to fanfic in my stocking! I hope you're having a good Christmas too.)