WARNING: This post may contain SPOILERS, though I have done my best to give away as little as possible. However, as I’m examining the characters’ relationships throughout the novel, some context and relational development will likely be considered spoilers by many. You have been warned. Read on if you dare. (Or read the book first, then return. I recommend it. You can find it here.)
Ashyn closed her eyes and reached out to the spirits. After a moment, she could feel them pulling at the edge of her consciousness. It wasn’t like the gentle plucks of the ancestral spirits; these were harsh, like needle jabs.
She repeated the words Ellyn had taught her.
“I’m here to give you peace,” she said. “You want peace.”
No, they wanted revenge.
Short Summary:
Ashyn and Moria are twins who live at the only entrance to the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s criminals are exiled. They are the Seeker and Keeper of Edgewood, and they must defend the empire from the vengeful spirits within the forest. On Ashyn’s first trip into the wood, everything goes wrong, and the two girls are forced to leave their home and head to the Imperial City to find the emperor. But they can’t travel alone. Gavril, a young warrior from a disgraced family who has lived in Edgewood for many years, and Ronan, a young thief exiled to the forest before the winter who managed to survive, accompany the girls while facing many challenges and threats along the way.
The relationships:
The two girls are close to one another, hardly separated for more than a day before they’re forced from their home under grim and unusual circumstances. They have a close bond, as expected of twins, and are identical in looks, though extremely different otherwise. However, the two girls temper each other: Ashyn, the quieter one who tends to think things through and is well-read, and Moria, the rambunctious fighting-type who’s good with a dagger and quick wit, but letting no one get away with insulting her sister or friends. Both are fiercely loyal and charged with daunting tasks, but they care deeply for one another and the few close to them.
Both are close with their bond-beasts, Tova (a Hound) and Daigo (a Wildcat) respectively. These bond-beasts help set them apart as Seeker and Keeper, and are fiercely loyal of their charges and vice versa. Multiple times Ashyn protects Tova and worries, and Moria worries over Daigo when he’s injured. Both Tova and Daigo are much like the girls with whom they are bonded, and are also close to one another.
Throughout the novel, the young warrior Gavril changes–or we get to see more of who he is–through Moria’s eyes. While in Edgewood, Gavril is intimidating and seemingly cold, though he and Moria get along alright. She enjoys his jabs and corrections, and quips back, not to be outmatched. As they travel to the Imperial City across a large expanse of cooled lava (the Wastes), following after Ashyn and Ronan, he starts to soften after an encounter with a mythical creature. We hear more about him and start to learn who he is. We also see Moria opening up and staying respectful, and we watch as their relationship deepens. We are shown how they temper each other, Moria taking action when it’s needed, and Gavril showing caution and giving chastisement when needed.
We see this developed relationship clearly through Ashyn’s eyes after they’ve caught up with her and Ronan. She sees something more between Moria and Gavril than was there in Edgewood, though Moria continues to claim that they’re only friends. By the end of the book, Gavril changes before our eyes, and readers are left bewildered by his actions. (Read the book to get the full extent and to find out what happens! I’ll not spoil it here 😉 )
We also see a relationship start to develop between Ashyn and Ronan as they work their way together across the Wastes. He ever so slowly opens up about who he is and why he’s so anxious to get back to the city, but (from my angle) we’re still not sure we know much about him by the end of the book. However, we do see a struggle within Ashyn as she works to quell her growing feelings for him and her desires for a romance as she’s read of in tales. We don’t really get the chance to see Ashyn and Ronan’s relationship through Moria’s eyes, as that’s not the sort of thing she’d think to look for or worry about, as Ashyn does. Therefore, we get to see it mostly through Ashyn’s eyes as she struggles with herself. However, again at the end of the book, we are shocked to see where their relationship truly is and how it’s developed. (Again, you’ll have to read the book.)
This is merely a review of the main relationships throughout the novel, but, as with most novels, there are many more relationships that come and go: the girls’ father, the villagers, other soldiers. There is much more that can be said and evaluated about the relationships we’ve already talked about as well, though that would require great depth and many spoilers. And I’m not inclined to giving things away, as that’s something that bothers me.
If you’ve read the book and have something to add, or you would just like to discuss aspects of the book, comment below or shoot me an email. I would love to discuss it with you, though I ask that comments be as free of spoilers as possible. At that point, just email me. 🙂
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