This thread has inspired me to three further questions. Given our esteemed author's tendency to work through an unreliable narrator, with his or own agenda, is there such a narrator for Brokedown Palace ? Who would it be ? What is their agenda ? If the agenda of the narrator is the agenda of the book, as analyzed by Mr. Schultz below, the narrator would very easily be a member of Kelly's gang of revolutionaries. One could see the book as a revolutionary tract for the dragaeran empire. In it a seed from outside , a metaphor for Kelly's books, leads after the over though of a god of stasis & her followers , perhaps a metaphor for the Cycle and all it implies, to a shining new palace . The author would also have to be someone with some knowledge of Fenario. That seem to leave a subset of with one member, Cawti. If Cawti did write Brokedown Palace & Brigitta is her mother, perhaps Cawti sees herself in the same catalyst role in Dargaeria as she wrote for her mother in Brokedown Palace. It would be interesting to see Fenario from another narrator's perspective. Vald's would be nice. Would he see a shining new palace by the river ? How unreliable is the narrator of Brokedown Palace? Delurking for the first time in quite a while. Francesco Nicoletti Scott Schultz wrote: >>So any theories, or am I just questioning the ineffable? >> >> > >Making logical sense of a folk tale can be an exercise in futility. Magical >things happen because the setting is magical. Players come and go and act in >odd ways because that's what the story demands, not because it neccesarily >makes any sense. ;-) > >Brigitta leaves because she's bearing a half-demon child, is afraid of the >ostricization (no way of knowing what a half-demon child will be like) and >she's not that fond of Fenario anyway. > >Yes, the narrative copies a traditional form so expecting any sort of normal >development is opening oneself to dissatisfaction. > >The story is simply an allegory. It's a story about the destruction of the >old order and its replacement by a new order. It's about the unshackling of >Men from the yoke of Faerie and the Gods (though there's some question >whether Bolk is a God or not). It's about life, death, and the inevitability >of rebirth. > > > >>What is Verra trying to accomplish with her support of those >>she supports? >> >> > >The support of the Establishment. She is the agent of Order, Stability and >ultimately, Stagnation. Rather ironic considering that it's Verra we're >talking about. > > > >>Who is working against her? >> >> > >No-one is working actively against her. Well, Bolk is, I suppose. Verra's >defeat happens because the attack comes from a completely unexpected vector, >initiated half-unknowingly by one of her subjects that she probably still >hoped to pull back into the fold. I think she saw Miklos as misguided rather >than an actual enemy. > > > >>Why is it necessary to move so drastically against her? >> >> > >Because the Old Order is one of stagnation and decay and she is actively >preventing any change to the situation. She likes things the way they are, >even if it's not really the best thing for the people who worship her. > > > >>Wouldn't a chat >>help? >> >> > >Good question. Maybe it would have in the beginning. Certainly it was >unlikely to help by the time events were rolling along. > > > >>Is the River a power in itself or a representative of some >>other power? >> >> > >Good question. It's a fairy tale set in the mysterious East. Go with it. :-) > > > >>Which one? >> >> > >See above. > > > >>Is Brigitta a power in herself or a representative of that same power? >> >> > >Brigitta is Brigitta. She's a catalyst, (the outsider who awakens the >dreamer to his true surroundings) but she's not a power, IMO. Pararectaly, >there is some speculation that she is ultimately Cawti's mother. > > > >>Ditto Bolk? >> >> > >Bolk is a mystery. He might be a rogue God. He might be a demon or something >like a God. He may be something else entirely. Whatever he is, he's >following his own agenda, not that of another being. > > > >>Why must Sandor be eliminated? Mom n Dad? Reszo? >> >> > >They are the Establishment. The represent the Old Order that has locked the >land in stasis and led to the decay and decline of all around them. They're >the aristrocracy and Miklos and the tree are the Revolution. > > > >>In most basic terms, is this a Gods vs. Nature, Gods vs. >>Gods, or Gods vs. >>Man, or Man vs. Man struggle? >> >> > >None of the above. All of the above. Ultimately, it's a struggle of Death >versus Birth and the dawning of a new age. The Palace isn't just a Palace. >It's a symbol of the kingdom and, in a larger sense, of Mankind. > > > > > > >