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Interview

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Ms. McMillan

ENG 1D

11 June 2012

The Darkness That Comes Before: Interview

Q: The Darkness That Comes Before is only really a setup for the rest of the Prince of Nothing series, isn’t it? Did that make it difficult to feature themes prominently?

A: Yeah, The Darkness That Comes Before is definitely a bit of a prelude. That didn’t make it particularly difficult to feature themes, though. It’s all about writing so making inferences is important.

Q: So, the denizens of your world follow a plethora of religions, all being rather grey. Were you worried that some people might be upset with that portrayal of religion?

A: You know, not really. People can have whatever opinions they like; it won’t affect what I write. It’s important for the setting that there are different beliefs, just as there are in real life, and that none of the religions are completely positive. Even if one of them were completely positive, it’s important to remember that in this setting, religions are always man-made. That’s what the title of the book comes from: The Darkness (of man) That Comes Before (an idea).

Q: Sorcerers affect the state of politics greatly in this setting. Why did you decide that this would be the case?

A: Magi are often beings that have little effect on the state of politics in fantasy. They are immensely powerful, can destroy so easily, yet are essentially disregarded when considering how government and things work. That doesn’t really make sense, does it? If sorcerers can do such harm, they should be taken into consideration. They should hold positions of power, because they’re powerful.

Q: The Dunyain achieve enlightenment by forgetting the passions of man. In the book, you mention the Quandary of Men: that humanity’s urge for power comes from the darkness of it’s soul. Will this play an important role in following books?

A: I don’t much want to spoil anything that’s coming in my next books, but you might expect people to act for personal gain at risk of great peril

Q: The Mandate Schoolmen live in both the past and the present. It’s obvious that you might be going for a “future repeats itself” type thing with the Consult returning and the return of an Anasurimbor. Now, the schools of sorcery are powerful. Is it, perhaps, true that because the Mandate Schoolmen live in the past, they might carry that with them and perhaps subconsciously make things more like the past. Would it be a fair presumption to say that the Mandate Schoolmen have a much larger role in the playing of events than they seem to?

A: It would definitely be fair to presume that. I think that’s the last question, yes? Remember to by my book – The Darkness That Comes Before - at a bookstore near you. I’d definitely appreciate that.

Character Sketches

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Ms. McMillan

ENG 1D

11 June 2012

The Darkness That Comes Before: Character Sketches

Anasurimbor Kellhus

                Anasurimbor Kellhus is the son of Anasurimbor Moenghus. Anasurimbor Celmomas II was an ancestor of his – the last of the Kuniuric High Kings. The trilogy (the Prince of Nothing) is named after him, because the Kuniuri fell, making him a Prince of a fallen kingdom. A Prince of nothing.

                Anasurimbor Kellhus is a Dunyain, which is monastic sect who look to find enlightenment through complete control of thoughts and passion. Kellhus found enlightenment, thusly he is calm. Kellhus doesn’t seem to be excited by much and he doesn’t seem to be stricken by much. Even when he noticed that something was definitely strange about the Emperor’s second-hand man, he wasn’t much unnerved.

                Kellhus is ridiculously charismatic. He is capable of persuading almost anybody into being friendly with him, or into revealing secrets, or into becoming furious and loosing focus of what is important. This is because he can read faces, essentially. He can look at the muscles in the face and determine what someone wants, what someone thinks about others, what they feel. He figures out what makes someone tick, and uses it against them. This is especially evident when you look at how quickly Serwe fell in love with him. At one point in the book, a man Kellhus knew not for long was dying, and in his last moments, cried only Kellhus’s name. “Kellhus? Kelllhuuss!” (26)

                Finally, Kellhus is realistic. He doesn’t ponder things that aren’t feasible. He doesn’t wonder what might have happened if he’d done something different. He runs when he has to run (such as when he fought the nonman in the beginning of the book) and he fights when he must (such as against the sranc, who you can’t bargain with). He realizes that words and friendships can be more valuable than gold (especially when something important can be learned from those friendships, like in the case of Achamian and magic). He does what works best.

Cnaiur urs Skiotha

                Cnaiur urs Skiotha is chieftain of the Scylvendi Utemot tribe. He known to be a powerful warrior, highlighted by his title - Breaker-of-horses-and-men. Cnaiur is in his fourties, owns eight wives and has dozens of children.

Cnaiur is a smart man, especially when compared to most of the Scylvendi. He did, for instance, realize that Kellhus was dangerous right as he saw him. He is a powerful leader because he understands war, and he learns easily through it. He also has a wide vocabulary in comparison to most Scylvendi. He did, for instance, say “...don’t think I’m deluded into believing I’ve broken you. Your kind is not to be broken” (378).

                Cnaiur keeps his thoughts and emotions well defended. Ever since Anasurimbor Kellhus had him kill his father, he’s been wary of allowing people to persuade him. This is exceedingly obvious when Cnaiur first meets Kellhus. After they head off towards Shimeh, it takes until Kellhus says “You cannot maintain this silence forever,” (380) for Cnaiur to really say anything to him after their initial meeting. It certainly comes in handy for him, as if he didn’t keep his guard up, Kellhus would have already killed him.

                Finally, Cnaiur puts great importance in culture. He’s smart. He realizes that the Scylvendi’s traditions don’t make an awful lot of sense. He still follows them, however. He keeps marking himself when he kills, he keeps his slaves, and he doesn’t stop even when in Momemn where that culture is nonexistent and people think it ridiculous.