PoB - Neverending lunches and marriages
Assessed over 6.5K words on Nov 22nd. I came home from work pretty late, unless I’d likely have done much more. It seems so weird to know that the first, big turning point of the novel is just around the corner.
Right now, Erthel is at lunch at the high bloodline’s estate in a neverending scene in which I’m doing my best to talk the reader’s ear off with my oh-so-awesome worldbuilding about marriage customs, widowhood, and where are we leaving the whole architecture angle? Hmm? Also, Lizthel (Faurel’s likely candidate for engagement) entered the scene and it’s clear that she considers the whole business of breathing to be entirely optional, judging from her supertight corset and bodice. She doesn’t even talk in the whole scene, and it’s not really surprising given that she’s barely breathing. I have reasons for her to be there though. This doesn’t change the fact that this whole scene is a huge mess anyway, and I’ll have quite a few things to work upon.
I’m starting to think that I’ll have to work in a little subplot to show Erthel’s situation as “the weird girl with the spooky mom that isn’t likely to be asked for marriage”, mirroring the subplot about Faurel and marriage customs for nobility. The thing is that while members of the high bloodlines have a tendency to marry after 20, since they have to complete their training with the gift (the titular “path of blood”) before trying to, um, reproduce (at least if they want to stay sane of mind), on the other hand most common people and especially women usually marry earlier, unless we’re talking about social strata where women can afford high level education.
Erthel is 20 and isn’t even engaged, which for the aforementioned reasons, for a common person is saying something. I already knew Erthel is the sort of girl that nobody wants in the house except as a maid, but I realize that this is something worth showing instead of mentioning in the background, especially given how it interacts with Erthel’s not always measured need of acceptance.
Instead of creating a completely new subplot about this I’ll probably merge it with the one I dropped halfway about Erthel’s conflict with the rest of the village - and this is where you should thank me for not saying “with the village people”, therefore summoning images your brain (and mine) won’t be able to unsee.
Whoops.
