Valdemar/Velgarth

[dragonsigma]

Mercedes Lackey's books in the (sometimes) magical world of Velgarth, mostly the country Valdemar.

Where to start? There's nearly 2500 years of history, not including pre-Mage Wars civilizations.

(By the way, I'm trying to keep anything on this forum from turning into a discussion of "things I don't like." Mentioning something you didn't like is fine, but don't make it the subject of a discussion)

Should we do something about spoilers, or just assume everybody in the discussion knows everything?

[Moth]

Gah. Beat me to it. Stupid work... ;P

Anyhow, I was gonna make up a big old list of questions and now I can't remember half of them. So! Just to get things started, how about favorite character(s), favorite book set/era, and if you could have any gift, what would it be?

Mine are Kero (with Mags not too far behind), the Owl books (but really wishing we could hear more about the Mage Wars era because it's hugely fascinating even if they weren't my favorite books) and animal mindspeaking or fetching. Because it's the perfect gift for a lazy chic... lol

[dragonsigma]

Although I know sorta what happens, I still have to finish the'present day' books. I'm in the middle of Winds of Change right now.
I won't include those characters yet until I finish their stories.
Characters: I like Mags, and of course Vanyel, Amberdrake and the gryphons, Mage Urtho is a really well done and fascinating character as well. I love the scene where Skan confronts him over the gryphon breeding seccret .
Books: has to be Foundation and Black Gryphon, and parts of Vanyel's books
Gift: Mindspeaking and maybe some sort of Empathy. I'd want to work on records and archives and writing stories as well as normal Herald stuff.

[dragonsigma]

I LOVE the questions of ethics. How wrong it is to manipulate people with a Gift, Urtho struggling over giving his creations free will and the right to breed as they please, Elspeth thinking the Tayledras in their Vale are lazy until she realizes they fight just as hard for their home as Heralds do, Need trying to save girls and what's the best for them, Nyara having to appear "more human" to be accepted.... Such a complex world! Grey morality.

[Moth]

I think that's part of why they're still pretty popular, even if the writing isn't on par, with, say, LotR. There's no real black and white, just lots and lots of greys. All the various Big Bads could be said to be doing what they think is right.

They're reprehensible to us, but they're not the I'm going to destroy the world cause I'm Evil and that's what Evil does sort of bad guys. Standing on the other side-say, Karse-it's easy to see how someone could think the Heralds were the bad guys.

Uthro and his made creatures sill make me wibbly, though, because I can hugely see why he'd restrict the breeding, but, gah. Intelligent creatures, man!

That, and there's some brilliant world building. I loved the glimpses of the other countries we saw through Tarma & Keth and Kero's books.

I'm not sure what all is on it for Valdemar, but I know tuebl.ca has lots of Misty's other books. You know, for spreading the love.

[dragonsigma]

Yeah, I got Vanyel's and the Collegium off of Tuebl, though I own two of the Collegium books and I'm buying Vanyel's as soon as I get a change.

Well, there is some absolute evil in the form of "ambitious depraved sadistic evil" people, though.

I don't like to look TOO deep, especially with Urtho, because we know his intentions were good and he was troubled by the ethics question. The books do a good job of questioning themselves. (Also, Elspeth refusing to act like "a character in a book" was pretty amusing)

I want to know more about the other countries! I'm trying to piece together the map of the entire continent (in the series guide, also on Tuebl). we get glimpses in the short stories too, even if those are other authors. There's so much more of this world than what we see. Just like in real life, each country has a history and a culture and none of that is simplified, however much it might be in-universe, that's proved wrong (the people learn that others are complex as well)
The thing with Karse is well-stated in Alberich's books (also, the language: having studied German, I find his complaints of "the verb has to come at the end!" very funny)

I do wish we'd see a bit more of the inside of a classroom, though, maybe some of those "ethical puzzles" Nikolas told Mags about, or a history lesson.

[dragonsigma]

Finished the Winds trilogy last night, getting the first Storms book from the library (Please don't give me spoilers! I think I know too much already) as soon as I can. Going to paste in some of my notes I took while reading:

Just look at this, how far we've come from Talia's books. From basic Heralds-and-Companions-and-sometimes-war to this! Gryphons teaching magery, the cast getting their quest from Vanyel Ashkevron himself, awakening the Heartstone in the hidden room Van used for his protection spell and Mags used to understand the Web. Still mysteries in those books...

But I so love that, all the WORLD and the CHARACTERS and the DETAIL. Love the rotating viewpoint that sometimes slides into appropriate judgment. Love the cultures and the differences.
But, Firesong. Finally helping others with the empathy and compassion befitting a Healing Adept. Vanyel would be proud. Or I suppose Vanyel won't be one to judge, being this is not his era.
And back in Sorrows, Vanyel did have a sort-of "talk" with Firesong, when Firesong complained about helping them. Seems to be a habit for Vanyel, if he disapproves of someone's intentions, he bombards them with semi-rhetorical questions until they feel guilty.

That scene with the gryphons crashing into the Ashkevron manor and freaking everybody out was hilarious as fuck.

These books are full of things that would seem irrational or too sudden if they weren't planned so well. Even Arrows has many hints: mentioning Alberich's past, the story with Vanyel and Stefen, Lave Evendim...

Also, finding the various descriptions of Vanyel very interesting. In Talia's daydream, the first mention of him (the second page of the first book, the first of anything relating to the Heralds!), he is "dangerous" and "faintly sinister", powerful and strong. Yet undoubtedly a hero. In "Demonsbane," a legend-song, he's heroic, powerful, uncorrupted, and good. "I protect all helpless". Of course, that's a bit of an exaggeration, being a Bardic song. And in his own story, The Last Herald-Mage, we see him though all of human emotion: uncertain, frightened, in love, in grief and pain, helping others, trying to solve the problems... He's a hero, yes. But human. Now, as a spirit, his voice is "cheerful and gentle" and he's friendly, kind, accommodating everyone in the group and giving them all the help he can. Especially for Nyara, who most people would turn away from.
Yes, this is one of my favorite characters ever.