There was once a prosperous kingdom ruled by a powerful king, wise queen, and a compassionate princess. The king and queen dispensed justice and mercy while teaching their daughter all she would need to know to rule.
One day an evil servant of the king named Estralog tricked a citizen of the kingdom into committing a terrible offense against the king. Estralog boldly rode into the castle yard and demanded that the king punish the offender with death, hoping that the king would be merciful and bribe Estralog to drop his case. The princess watched this from her balcony and was filled with compassion for the citizen and outrage at Estralog. She announced that she would satisfy the demand for justice by taking the punishment for the citizen on herself. Filled with anguish, the king pronounced judgment on his only daughter. A single tear fell from the princess’s eye to the floor of her balcony. As it hit the floor, a fierce, cold wind swirled upward and froze the princess in place. It grew stronger and drove all others from the kingdom. They settled in an inhospitable, mountainous terrain past the southern border of the kingdom and called the place the A-Beru. A strange new moon—only the thinnest edge of its former self in the upper-right quarter—rose over the frozen plateau to the north and set in the south. They scratched out a miserable existence on the steep mountainsides but stayed, resolutely, waiting for the punishment to be completed and the cold to end. Estralog recruited followers to seek the kingdom payment that he still felt was due him. Unable to raise enough to eat, some followed the moon to the south out of the mountains and found a huge forest with more food and game. They also encountered a fierce tribe living in a swampy region on the western edge of the forest. They formed a new kingdom that they called the Peesh-rak, but they pledged to remember where they came from. The A-Beru sent warriors to protect against the swamp tribe. The ladies-in-waiting of the frozen princess, now called the Dovarsha-Issen, formed a new diplomatic corps, called the Viszudar, to maintain unity and harmony between the kingdoms. The thin edge of the moon moved to the lower right quarter. Still hungry and now unhappy with a tiered social system that developed, some left the Peesh-rak and crossed a great river. A portion of them entered a vast, arid grassland that gave way to scorching desert. They called the kingdom the Marutu and pledged to share all they had with each other and with the other kingdoms. The lower-left edge of the moon appeared. Others followed the great river to the south and found a lush, tropical landscape that ended in a gentle sea. They learned to fish the sea and the river and called the kingdom the Kishtar. They valued those who developed new ideas. The bright thin edge of the moon rolled to the last quarter. Then a new moon with the whole edge glowing formed and was followed by another new moon with an even-brighter rim. Still the center remained dark. Truth rotted into legend, was copied into fable and then forgotten by many. However, some stood strong in the knowledge of the Dovarsha-Issen and looked forward to the day of her release.
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It seems that not much is said or written about “tribes” or “tribalism” these days. It could be that the idea seems offensive and out-of-date, or maybe language has just moved on to phrases like “ethnic identity”. But even if the actual wording has fallen into disuse, tribes certainly exist in modern society and their impact and importance is as relevant today as it has ever been.
A tribe can be defined in our modern world as simply those who share our core beliefs and mores. A tribe falls is larger than our family but closer to us than our friends. It could be a political party or a religious group. Perhaps the best example of a modern tribe is a group pursing some social cause, even if the group exists only on the Internet and never actually meets together in person. Obvious Tribes The world of Fallen Kingdoms: Anna’s Call can be described in terms of tribes, starting with the four culturally and physiologically distinct kingdoms. These groups don’t look or act at all like each other. They have very different values. In fact, two of them were formed because individuals rejected the social norms of an existing kingdom. On the face of it this appears to be a recipe for conflict and disaster. There are a couple of reasons why the four kingdoms are not at war with each other. One reason is that there is another tribe, the Viszudar, who actively seek to promote harmony and cooperation between the four kingdoms. Viszudar have no territory to call their own. They are drawn from the four kingdoms and generally serve as advisers to the ruler – the Dovarsha - in another kingdom. Underground Tribes The Viszudar are obvious and operate openly, but the same cannot be said for every tribe in the world of Fallen Kingdoms: Anna’s Call. Some, like the Forgers, literally exist underground. Others, like the Estralogi, are clandestine and secretive even within themselves. Some of these underground tribes seek their own power and domination while others just want to be left alone. Perhaps the most powerful underground tribe is the Ghun’dar, a secretive military force that is aligned with the Viszudar. They can be thought of as the blunt force behind that diplomatic group, but this does not capture their full role. Two of the kingdoms have no military force of their own – at least at the start of the story - and rely on the Ghun’dar. When necessary, any kingdom looks to the militaristic A-Beru kingdom for help. Tribal Perspectives This last point demonstrates more than any other why the world of Fallen Kingdoms: Anna’s Call functions so differently from our own. One of the key takeaways from visiting that world is that all the tribes see themselves as distinct, but except for the Estralogi they all also see their need to depend on and help each other. In fact, this willingness to help sets the stage for everything that happens. Somewhere along the way this idea has been lost in our world, and we are the poorer for it. Maybe it’s related to our unwillingness to recognize that we group ourselves into tribes in the first place, or that there is both a positive and a negative aspect to this tendency. It could be that our tribal relationships – particularly those on the Internet - are so weak that we need to strengthen them by denigrating other tribes. Closing thoughts Any story worth its salt has more going on than meets the eye, and the more going on under the surface the more worthwhile it becomes. The desire to address these unseen issues probably motivates most authors. Unfortunately it is far too easy to put the issues close to the surface and end up with a ham-fisted moralizing tale that alienates readers who disagree and bores those who are like-minded. Of course, burying the unseen issues too deeply in metaphor and symbolism leaves the reader wondering just what the heck is going on in the story, partly because they do not see themselves as potential participants. It is to be hoped that Fallen Kingdoms: Anna’s Call strikes the right balance, even if the issue of tribes and tribalism seems remote and unfamiliar to the reader. If you could ask Anna how old she is, you would get a very confused look in response. If you pressed her, she might struggle to put the answer into some context she could understand before finally saying she was born during the Kishtar moon. This is because Anna’s world, like many others, has a circular view of time rather than the linear view held by most readers.
Linear Time? Time passes, and as it does we anticipate events that will take place in the future and remember events that took place in the past. We count time as it goes past and measure how long until something will happen or how long since something has happened. We do this so automatically that we don’t even stop to consider what we are doing or that this perspective on time is a learned, cultural behavior. The fact is that not everyone has viewed time in this way. Author Thomas Cahill has written an outstanding book entitled The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels which documents that civilizations once viewed time as circular. This is also the concept of time held by some Native North Americans. Circular Time? A circular view of time is not hard to understand. Think about how the sun or moon travels a circular path through the sky in a seemingly endless pattern and you can appreciate this very different perspective. Expand this point-of-view to include the seasons and you quickly arrive at the idea that time is an endless cycle of birth and death, with our participation amounting to some portion of a much larger curve. This is not to suggest that those who held – or hold – a circular view of time cannot appreciate change and progress. They can and do. They simply do not count these as milestones in the way someone with a linear concept of time would. Rather they might view them in the same way as a change of the seasons or the rising of the sun. Night is obviously not the same as day, so any change is just as easy to understand. Okay. So, why? A circular view of time is so obviously different that it makes for an easy way to differentiate Anna’s world of four kingdoms from our world. In this sense it serves the same purpose as Anna’s sun rising in the west, her moon traveling north to south, C.S. Lewis’ talking animals or Tolkien's elves. Fantasy is fun to read, but if it looks too much like the real world it can quickly turn sanctimonious. This is not to suggest that fantasy can’t convey important ideas, and circular time in Anna’s world does just this. Circular time is so different from our perspective that there is a natural tendency to view it as primitive and those who see time this way as unsophisticated. This is wrong. Circular time is just different, in the same way that each of the four kingdoms in Anna’s world has unique characteristics. One Last Thought There’s one final, practical reason why Anna’s world has a circular view of time. Anna views Estralog, the individual who caused the fall of the original kingdom, to be a living, active person. Circular time allows this view and avoids the need for a complicated spiritual explanation. No one asks “How old must Estralog be by this time?” because the question falls outside their concept of time itself. The same holds true for Anna’s belief that the Dovarsha-Issen stands frozen in a physical place but can still intervene in a distinct, different physical place. Time and space are clearly interrelated, and a circular view of time promotes a different view of spatial reality. This is the reason Reya does not ask how the Dovarsha-Issen could have saved Anna, only why. I’ve been asked if the Viszudar are like the Bene Gesserit from the Dune series by Frank Herbert. I did read the first book or two of that series years ago, so it’s possible that something from the Bene Gesserit floated around in my mind and found a place in the Viszudar. There are similarities between the two groups, but I think the differences are more significant.
Similarities The most obvious similarity is that both groups are exclusively female. Both undergo years of training and are highly skilled at perceiving the thoughts and intentions of others. As an outcome of this skill they can manipulate others without the other person being aware of the manipulation. Most significantly, both groups hold significant political power which they use to achieve their own goals. Furthermore, from a structural point-of-view both groups play a significant role in the storyline of their respective books. The Viszudar provide the framework for the conflict in Fallen Kingdoms, and the breeding program of the Bene Gesserit is a key plot element in Dune. Given that list, it’s reasonable to think that the Bene Gesserit served as the model for the Viszudar. Differences However, I think the differences are much greater than the similarities, and the greatest difference is the overall goal of each group. The Bene Gesserit breeding program is secret and intended to move humanity in the direction they think best, while the Viszudar are blatantly obvious in their goal of maintaining harmony among the kingdoms. This makes the former a source of conflict and the latter an extension of the protagonist. A second significant distinction is that the Bene Gesserit obtain their abilities through the use of the fictional drug mélange, which makes it impossible for anyone to do what they do. The Viszudar, on the other hand, are trained to pay attention to what is said, and, as importantly, to how it is said. This can be done by anyone, although it is becoming a lost art in the modern, digital age. Origins Both Frank Hebert and I have a Catholic background, so perhaps it is better to look at that as the source of inspiration for both fictional groups. Mr. Herbert rejected Catholicism, while I followed it for many years. Perhaps as a result, the Bene Gesserit have a sinister, malevolent aura seemingly absent in the Viszudar. However, I think the Viszudar have their root in other personal experiences I have had. I’m referring to a business meeting I had years ago where someone said a good businessman can “tell when you’re lying as fast as a woman”. I understood this more as a compliment to women rather than as an admonition to be honest. I also have seen many very strong women work diligently to maintain order and harmony in their households, and feel that the Viszudar reflect this more than a secretive, fictional group. Conclusion As a writer I realize that everything I experience, and have experienced, can find its way into my work. (I’ve taken to warning my wife when something she says strikes me as particularly rich material.) This means the question about the Bene Gesserit is very reasonable, but on balance I have to conclude that the Viszudar are an entirely new, unique creation. Of course, I hope the reader agrees. (N.B. This evaluation is written in general terms to avoid ‘spoilers’ and looks at the technical writing craft behind the Viszudar. Those interested in the origins of the group within the confines of their own world can learn more at Historical Origins of the Viszudar.) There is only one sentence in the entire book that says anything about the origins and practices of the Viszudar. That comes in the prologue and says that the ladies-in-waiting serving the daughter of the king and queen became the Viszudar to maintain harmony among the growing kingdoms. This doesn’t explain very much, so this post gives more background information.
Ladies-in-Waiting This term refers to personal assistants assigned to serve a royal person. They do everything from helping the person dress to fetching anything they need to acting as trusted advisers and personal confidants. The duties ranged based on the capabilities of the individual and the needs of the royal person. Ladies in waiting were sometimes of noble birth, but the position was always highly coveted. When the Princess Aurelia took the punishment and became the Dovarsha-Issen, her ladies-in-waiting were driven out of the kingdom by the cold along with everyone else. Like any loyal servants, they stayed as close to the Dovarsha-Issen as possible, waiting to help her with anything she might need. The fact that they did this long after it became apparent she would not need them is evidence of their devotion. Things Change When people stated going down from the mountains to the forest to find food it was unimportant to the ladies-in-waiting who would rather starve than leave their posts. But when it became apparent that a new kingdom was being formed in the forest they realized that serving the Dovarsha-Issen would require more than simply waiting for her release. Serving would now include representing her interests in the new kingdom. This started as simply reminding everyone in charge in the Peesh-rak –as the new kingdom came to be known - where they came from. They did this so well that it became a cultural trait of the Peesh-rak. But they also kept their opinions to themselves like any good servant, a trait which was also absorbed. They were also accepted as advisers to the ruler of the both kingdoms and flourished in this new responsibility. Things Change Even More, But Still Stay the Same The formation of two additional kingdoms – the Marutu and Kishtar – forced the emerging Viszudar to redefine their role yet again. Representing the interests of the Dovarsha-Issen now meant overseeing the relationships between the four kingdoms more than the internal affairs of each kingdom. No one can serve two masters, and the Viszudar chose the Dovarsha-Issen over the Dovarsha of any kingdom. What did not change is how they went about serving. The most important skill any servant can have is to anticipate the needs of the person they are serving. To do this requires the servant to pay very close attention to what that individual is doing, and the Viszudar took this to a new level. They developed the ability to watch someone so closely that it is rumored that they can tell what that person is thinking. Anna’s Perspective It’s easy to see why Anna is so intimidated by the Viszudar even through she has no reason at all to fear them. They are held in high regard by most members of each of the four kingdoms as well as by the rulers of each kingdom. This second point is not surprising given that the rulers are generally – although not always – chosen from the ranks of the Viszudar of that kingdom. This respect is also why the Viszudar also serve as advisers to the rulers of each kingdom. The Viszudar use this opportunity to promote unity in the kingdoms and deliberately send their members to serve in kingdoms other than where they were born. However, as seen in the book loyalty to their home kingdom is still valued, and close advisers from outside the Viszudar are not unheard-of. (N.B. The author hopes this description does not include ‘spoilers’ for those who have not yet read the book. Those interested in a evaluation of the writing craft behind the Viszudar can find it under Technical Origins of the Viszudar.) |
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