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Celandine's Chronicle (celandineb) wrote in cels_fic_haven,
@ 2008-10-19 20:54:00

Entry tags:

narnia drabbles rilian, narnia fic

Narnia drabble: Of These, Hope [Rilian, general]
Title: Of These, Hope
Author: celandineb
Fandom: Narnia
Character: Rilian
Rating: general
Warnings: character death
Summary: Hope can live unexpectedly.
Note: For realpestilence who wanted Rilian, devastated. The title is borrowed from the song by Peter Gabriel from the album Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ.

Dead. No, please no.

Numbly Rilian let himself be led away from his father's body. Servants would wash it, dress it in royal garments, prepare it to lie in state for the people to see.

At least it is winter.

He turned his mind from the inescapable reality of decay. That was not his father there. His father was in Aslan's country now.

And I to be king.

Rilian found some hope in the thought. He had not devastated Narnia under the aegis of the Witch who had enslaved him. He could rule in peace, worthy as his father's son.

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realpestilence
2008-10-26 10:59 am UTC (link)

I always felt so bad for Rilian...bad enough to lose his mother like that, and then to be held captive for so many years...but to escape and come home just in time to see his father die! :(

The detachment of calling Caspian's body "it" is very effective. Having to deal with the practical realities of funeral preparation, worrying about tending the body and having the burial before decay sets in, reassuring himself his father is safe with Aslan, now, for comfort...You packed so much in a few short sentences. It's bleak, but mature, if you see what I mean-Rilian's not blaming anyone, or being melodramatic or anything. *thoughtful*

I suppose it would be some comfort to know that he can start his rule with a clean reputation. Even if he had been bespelled when he made war on his people, it would still be hard for them to forget, or to totally trust that he was free, after.

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celandineb
2008-10-26 11:26 am UTC (link)

The effect of the witch's enchantment was kind of interesting; when in his right mind Rilian clearly remembered all that happened to him under the enchantment, so I figure that he did in a way grow and mature emotionally and intellectually during those years, you know? So he probably would be able to take up the burden of kingship, though I'm sure he needed the assistance of Trumpkin and his father's other counsellors.

Glad you enjoyed it, hon!

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realpestilence
2008-10-26 11:43 am UTC (link)

I think Rilian would definitely need assistance for a good while, just getting back in touch with the small changes in Narnia that happened while he was gone-the kind of things you don't notice while you're there-not to mention the international scene. Caspian being elderly and without an heir must have played hob with politics, probably weakened Narnia's front among certain other countries because they could see possible war coming, etc. (I bet Calmoren was excited, heh.) I wonder how many treaties started to unravel, there at the end when Caspian took his voyage? Trumpkin was regent, but not everyone would have accepted that as being valid, or as being *enough*.

I liked Rilian, once he was free...his nature seems innately noble, and brave...I don't know if he was naturally grave or if that was a by-product of his travails, but he reminds me of Edmund, in a Horse & His Boy. That same grace.

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celandineb
2008-10-26 12:01 pm UTC (link)

I'm trying to remember... Narnia lasts only another, what, five or six generations after Caspian's rule, down to Tirian? And then the Calormenes can move in, not quite openly, but not encountering a whole lot of real resistance either. One wonders what has been happening in terms of international diplomacy in those couple of centuries.

I wish we could have seen more of Rilian post-release, but of course for Lewis the point of the book was the changes in Jill, especially, and to a lesser extent perhaps Eustace; the freeing of Rilian but not the consequences of it. *sighs*

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realpestilence
2008-11-02 10:52 pm UTC (link)

It's like being a free Narnian, and being king, meant that Rilian was *of course* all right, as soon as he hit the surface...no consequences of many years' imprisonment and brain-washing.

I bet Rilian was both afraid of the dark *and* claustrophobic as hell. I'm also betting he didn't like snakes much. Or green.

On the other hand, he'd be sharply aware of the power of sexual persuasion, of subtle influences and the effects of personal charisma, and how hard it can be to resist a believable lie when it's repeated ad nauseum. One hell of a politician...*eyes you*

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	celandineb 2008-11-02 10:55 pm UTC (link)
	No. More. Bunnies. Now. she says sternly, thinking about Yuletide signups! files Rilian possibilities away for another time (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	I EXHALE plot bunnies! realpestilence 2008-11-02 10:57 pm UTC (link)
	chortles (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: I EXHALE plot bunnies! celandineb 2008-11-02 11:03 pm UTC (link)
	hrumph Yeah, but I just finished over 11K of Narnia fic... which is like 3x or 4x as long as any previous fic I've written in the fandom. Need to take a break! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: I EXHALE plot bunnies! realpestilence 2008-11-02 11:06 pm UTC (link)
	I'm sure you do! But talking to me ain't gonna help you do it. :) I don't know how people do that NaNo thing. I can't even post in my lj every night, much less crank out x words per day for however many days it takes to reach the insane word amount. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: I EXHALE plot bunnies!

celandineb
2008-11-02 11:12 pm UTC (link)

I could probably do NaNo if I weren't also teaching, trying to write articles, and writing papers for the classes I'm taking. I can dictate 1000-1800 words each commuting day (3 days/week), depending on how the muse is feeling... that's between 12K and 20K words right there, about 1/3 of the way to the 50K minimum for NaNo. But I've never tried because I'm always just far too busy writing other things... the RL stuff, plus usually at least a couple of fests (whee Yuletide!), holiday gift drabbles, etc.

Now, if it were in JUNE, I'd be all over it. *g*

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realpestilence
2008-11-03 06:03 am UTC (link)

I used to write for HP, and poetry (I see you flinching, heh);but any more, I'm so damn exhausted, joint-and-headachey all the time, that I just don't have anything to say. I kind of miss it, because it was fun, but...well, if I were really a good writer, I'd *have* something to say. More imagination than skill. Lazy! *shrugs*

I don't even comment as much as I used to. I don't have the time, between the 2 jobs and *trying* to read as many books as I crave. (Not that I ever *can* read as much as I crave!)I wouldn't actually mind being a shut-in too much, if I had enough to read and a good internet connection. And food delivery! I'm anti-social like whoa. :)

I'm gonna keep an eye out for the next drabble call, I've got some ideas-and they're not for the Caspian-Edmund-Eustace thread, oddly enough! Oh, I got the story, and thanks, it's good!-and I will comment on it later, in depth. I'm leaving for work soon and playing before I go. This is why I'm always rushing not to be late, I get caught up!

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celandineb
2008-11-03 06:17 am UTC (link)

Re: drabble prompts... as long as they're not contradictory to the ongoing sequence, I'm good with that... but I'm happy to be keeping all the Narnia fic consistent. I did that in LotR fandom too, and it's one thing that I've occasionally been weirded out about in HP, that I have so many different versions of the characters banging around in my head, you know? *g*

Glad you got the fic!

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