I wasn't necessarily thinking of humans in Alagaesia as a whole, though, just wherever Galbatorix is from. His people believe that for the dead to enter the afterworld, their body has to be burned because the smell of burning flesh is the payment the Old Folk demand to carry their spirits across the threshold. In times where it's not possible to do so you can inscribe a rune in blood to indicate that you're taking the debt on to yourself, to be paid when you die.
I like it, and I also like it specifically as a regional belief, since the place where Galbatorix is from is canonically "no more." It makes the lack of this system of belief in the series make sense, because only one man still lives who was raised with it.
I'm not 100% sure what the Old Folk are, but I was thinking of fairies when I wrote it.
I did sort of get that impression, what with how similar the name is to Fair Folk. I do like me some good old-school faeries.
So I wanted to portray the auditory and visual hallucinations Galbatorix is experiencing in this fic as part manifestation of one emotion or anything (guilt, fear, missing Jarnunvösk, suicidal ideation), part subconsciously noticing things (Patterns in the mind that point to a true name, the power issues associated with the elven council deciding for the dragons), and part intrusive nonsense thoughts he can't get out of his head (Cake-as-shampoo lived in my own head for a blessedly brief few hours).
I like this. It really is a nice departure from Hollywood Schizophrenia.
One thing I was unsure about when writing this was what exactly the empathy spell does.
Going by the description in canon, it makes you feel everything you've ever made someone else feel. So if, say, Vanora got hit with it, she would feel the pain one of Serrill's bullies felt when she punched him in the face, but she would also feel Serrill's relief and sense of being protected.
Is he having this experience because the spell is forcing him to suffer the pain of his subjects, who are being brutally murdered by the Varden as this happens? Or is he having this experience because by his religious beliefs this is what Jarnunvösk would be going through every second her debt is unpaid and she cannot fully pass to the Afterworld? In short, is the spell forcing him to experience real pain and trauma or is it reacting with his mental illnesses?
I think the scene works with either interpretation.
Leaving things up to interpretation is always fun, and yes, I think the scene does work whichever way you interpret it.
I probably should have included this line. But I'm satisfied with the story as it is.
Honestly, I think it's good without it. For people who've read the books, the line will naturally come to mind.
no subject
I like it, and I also like it specifically as a regional belief, since the place where Galbatorix is from is canonically "no more." It makes the lack of this system of belief in the series make sense, because only one man still lives who was raised with it.
I'm not 100% sure what the Old Folk are, but I was thinking of fairies when I wrote it.
I did sort of get that impression, what with how similar the name is to Fair Folk. I do like me some good old-school faeries.
So I wanted to portray the auditory and visual hallucinations Galbatorix is experiencing in this fic as part manifestation of one emotion or anything (guilt, fear, missing Jarnunvösk, suicidal ideation), part subconsciously noticing things (Patterns in the mind that point to a true name, the power issues associated with the elven council deciding for the dragons), and part intrusive nonsense thoughts he can't get out of his head (Cake-as-shampoo lived in my own head for a blessedly brief few hours).
I like this. It really is a nice departure from Hollywood Schizophrenia.
One thing I was unsure about when writing this was what exactly the empathy spell does.
Going by the description in canon, it makes you feel everything you've ever made someone else feel. So if, say, Vanora got hit with it, she would feel the pain one of Serrill's bullies felt when she punched him in the face, but she would also feel Serrill's relief and sense of being protected.
Is he having this experience because the spell is forcing him to suffer the pain of his subjects, who are being brutally murdered by the Varden as this happens? Or is he having this experience because by his religious beliefs this is what Jarnunvösk would be going through every second her debt is unpaid and she cannot fully pass to the Afterworld? In short, is the spell forcing him to experience real pain and trauma or is it reacting with his mental illnesses?
I think the scene works with either interpretation.
Leaving things up to interpretation is always fun, and yes, I think the scene does work whichever way you interpret it.
I probably should have included this line. But I'm satisfied with the story as it is.
Honestly, I think it's good without it. For people who've read the books, the line will naturally come to mind.