ELD - The Wildered Quest

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Post by Caranthir » 4 years ago

The book is online for those who preordered.

Spoilers below:
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Will and Rowan are children of Algenus Kenrith, the High King, but not their mother.
Algenus was bewitched by a witch living in a cottage by a love potion, in order to fall in love and impregnate her
That was successful, the witch needed the child to kill it for its blood and use it for eternal youth potion (Mother Gothel, anyone?)
The twins were born and killed, but Linden, Algenus' wife, used her life-bound sword to revive them.

The book revolves also around Midsummer's hunt, by elves. Kind of "Lords and Ladies" by Pratchett vibe here, only the elves are basically good (with the exception of some hotheads) Oko transforms Algenus into a stag , then assumes the form of the elf queen to shoot him with an arrow, to incite war between elves of the Wilds and the Realm. In the end, Algenus is revived by his own life-bound sword that remained in the witch's cottage.

Along the course, Will saves Garruk from drowning and Garruk is cured from his curse by even stronger magic of Eldraine (some cauldron/well, I just skimmed through). He probably breaks from Oko's control before that, I have to read it thoroughly. The twins need Garruk to track the elven hunt and save their father (who is the target of the hunt after being turned into a stag).

Oko is revealed and almost subdued by Rowan, Will, Garruk & co. but he slips away. The Kenrith twins are revealed their true history and from the psychical trauma, their sparks ignite (together). Garruk, cured and well, promises the parents that he will track them and basically make sure they are safe. They helped him, he'll help them.

More details to follow.
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Post by 5colorsrainbow » 4 years ago

Thoughts
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Overall great writing very engaging. Elliot is able to again really able to draw you into her writing. I spent 3 hour being reading it and it didn't feel all that long. I also feel like she does a better job giving out all the explosion that the setting and backstory for character very well. Loved her for Chronicles of Bolas and I'm so happy she was brought back for this.

Characters
I going from who I liked best to worst. I will say I didn't outright hate or any characters so the character not mentioned I liked just didn't love them

Will- Will ended up being my favorite character. Similar to current Jace Will is insightful and curious and due to that he was able to see the man under the monster in Garruk. I loved the moments he and Garruk Elliot did a great job at having Will and Rowan both work as a pair but still separate people. Will out of the two is the calm and knowledgeable one. He's the one who when Rowan has a plan is able to figure out how to execute it. But while Rowan is out for glory, Will is out for knowledge wanting to learn and find out secrets. While a bit bland at just using ice magic, I like that it back up with swordplay and gives Will a combat aspect that we don't see much in blue. Overall my favorite character.

Garruk
Damn. Just damn. Garruk story in Eldraine was beautiful. Garruk for the most part was a victim for most of his storyline. First off we get info on his mother who was a soldier who seems to be where Garruk giot his fighting skills while his nature magic side is from his father. This story really drove it home with Oko enslaving him and dehumanizing him. Then we finally get Will seeing his humanity and ended up helping Garruk himself. I like the curse free broken Garruk, the man who animals come to and feel claimed by. Also it seems his hate for other humans is leesen some by Will and Rowan since instead of hunting Oko (or Liliana) he chose first to get in on them. Reminded of how Kratos was in the Norse God of War, still a badass but no longer driven by rage and anger. I welcome Garruk back as a mono green druid and now maybe father/big brother like character. While I feel like its kinda rushed that Garruk suddenly got cured, it does fit with creative goal of closing loose ends of storylines that been going on for awhile (Eldrazi, Bolas, Liliana Demons, Jace and Chandra dealing with their pasts and homes ect). I'm really thinking Garruk might be a link to a bigger story arc and might end up joining the gatewatch with a similar goal as Nissa to protect life.

Elowin
I enjoyed the snarky and very blue Elowin. A few times I thought she was really Oko with how tell she was able to get through the Wilds, but I like the twist of how she was able to use a witch hex to survive instead and that she was the one who figured out Oko. I bet she will really loved to hear the secrets of where Will and Rowan went lol.

Oko
I enjoy Oko. I like him as an antagonist even if in person I'd want to hit him. He very much fills that Puck fey trickster, alien, cruel and playing a game in which he does his best to control the rules. As a few people wondered about the red or black, I relaized readin that Oko cruelness was a lack of empathy or caring about emotion of other something blue is known for though more typically a cold scientific minded person. We also saw he can be very charming and manipulative. We also learn he can also transform anyone he's touching when he transforms himself. Also his card is the most flavorful I think I've seen, he offers food to the protagonists, he transform their father into a stage (elk) before stealing him.

Rowan
I liked Rowan well enough. She is the typical fairy tale disney princess who "wants adventure in the great wide somewheres". With WIll she is the bold one who often is the one who makes the (not always thought out) plans and push them into action, but on her own she seeks fame, glory and the freedom of knight hood. As I said with Will, Elliot did great on giving the twins great personalities that work well but still are their own people. While Idid dislike Rowan I just didn't like her as much as the other characters.

Rest of the Kenriths
More a group but I love how the Kenrtih family is. First I love the message of having a blended family that loves and supports each other. I like that they don't call Linden their stepmother but rather their mother and the other women their birth mother. I think Erec and Hazel are cute and would love to see them on cards. I also like the psudeo-twist on Lancelot/Mordred where Algenus has the twins out of wedlock and the mother is a witch. Linden using the "one use one life" sword magic on twins makes me wonder if that's why they share a spark. Overall I love the Kenriths and hope Will and Rowan show up again and we get to see their family on Eldraine again too.

Plane/Setting
While a bit differnt then I was hoping for in a fairy tale set I'm overall happy from the book presented the world. I really think the fairy tale elements are needed since the high fantasy elements felt a bit overdone without the odd mention of a fairy tale trope. While I haven't played a huge amount it very much felt like World of the Witcher. We have the Realms with its five courts and the Wilds where "bad" and wild magic is let run. People set off on knighty quest given by a Quest Beast. This is also how the high king is picked. From we story we find out the races of Eldraine include;

Goblins called Redcaps who keep the myth tradition of being blood stained and attack villages in mobs.

An Archon appears so it's likely no angels on the plane.

Elves who split into two groups, the ones in the Realms and the ones in the Wilds.
Some tension between elves and humans but it seems some of the elves are willing to work with decent human rules. They also do a wild hunt each midwinter.

Giants are shown as mostly more tame though not unsure if there are the more evil ones.

Small trickster fairies appear similar to ones normally found in magic, though they poof when killed.

Orge are mentioned as a threat to humans.

When a person dies in the WIlds they can become a lich who uses soul life sucking magic to make more of themselves.


Dragons are mentioned as an untamable creature on Eldraine following no elf or person.

Undine, Merfolk, who live in waters are will trade in secrets or information.
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I also like the subversion of the "wicked stepmother" with Linden who while antagonist at point of the story its out of love and care for her children.
Last edited by 5colorsrainbow 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Serpent_Steve » 4 years ago

Thanks for the rundown. Just one question does the novel give any indication about the timing of these events. I'm curious if there is even a throwaway line about the events of War of the Spark or even if Garruk feels the pull of the Interplanar Beacon before being blocked (by Bolas)?

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Post by Caranthir » 4 years ago

Serpent_Steve wrote:
4 years ago
Thanks for the rundown. Just one question does the novel give any indication about the timing of these events. I'm curious if there is even a throwaway line about the events of War of the Spark or even if Garruk feels the pull of the Interplanar Beacon before being blocked (by Bolas)?
I do not think this is mentioned in any way. The only thing we can say for sure is this precedes Battlebond (that hasn't a fixed time either) - just based on the fact that the book ends with the Kenrith twins igniting their spark (literally spark, not sparks...)

More info:


The five realms/courts seem to be:

- Ardenvale, home of the High King and the Kenrith twins, strong white vibe
- Vantress, castle by a huge loch, seat of Indrelon (basically the Magic Mirror), who trades secrets for answers, strong blue-aligned, aided by undines (Eldraine merfolk)
- Locthwain, flying castle that "lost its virtue" , ruled by elven queen Ayara - by elimination method this seems to be the "black" court
- Embereth, another knight-centered court, primarily red
- Garenbrig, the most Innistrad-like court, with knights riding bears, clearly meant to be the "green" one. Ruled by King Yorvo, a giant. Location of a portal to the Wilds (built in a Stonehenge-manner.)

Anybody can become the High King (or High Queen), if they manage to get all five knighthoods of the Realm. Special individuals are chosed for this "royal quest" by "The Questing Beast". Both Algenus Kenrith (the High King) and Linden Kenrith (his wife) were once just commoners.

Attached here the arts that can be already almost certainly identified as:

- Queen Linden Kenrith
- Vantress castle
- Indrelon, the Magic Mirror
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Post by 5colorsrainbow » 4 years ago

EDIT: Oops but...
So who do you think will show up in card form?
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Post by Serpent_Steve » 4 years ago

Caranthir wrote:
4 years ago
Serpent_Steve wrote:
4 years ago
Thanks for the rundown. Just one question does the novel give any indication about the timing of these events. I'm curious if there is even a throwaway line about the events of War of the Spark or even if Garruk feels the pull of the Interplanar Beacon before being blocked (by Bolas)?
I do not think this is mentioned in any way. The only thing we can say for sure is this precedes Battlebond (that hasn't a fixed time either) - just based on the fact that the book ends with the Kenrith twins igniting their spark (literally spark, not sparks...)

That is a shame. I'm still mainly curious how this is going to fold into the next major arc for magic. Nothing so far seems to lead into anything in particular. Also seems like there is more focus on the setting this time around which I'm definitely a fan of. It's such a shame most recent magic sets only note one particular area (looking at you Kaladesh! I wanted to know more about outside of Ghirapur.).

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Post by 5colorsrainbow » 4 years ago

Serpent_Steve wrote:
4 years ago
Caranthir wrote:
4 years ago
Serpent_Steve wrote:
4 years ago
Thanks for the rundown. Just one question does the novel give any indication about the timing of these events. I'm curious if there is even a throwaway line about the events of War of the Spark or even if Garruk feels the pull of the Interplanar Beacon before being blocked (by Bolas)?
I do not think this is mentioned in any way. The only thing we can say for sure is this precedes Battlebond (that hasn't a fixed time either) - just based on the fact that the book ends with the Kenrith twins igniting their spark (literally spark, not sparks...)

That is a shame. I'm still mainly curious how this is going to fold into the next major arc for magic. Nothing so far seems to lead into anything in particular. Also seems like there is more focus on the setting this time around which I'm definitely a fan of. It's such a shame most recent magic sets only note one particular area (looking at you Kaladesh! I wanted to know more about outside of Ghirapur.).
My head canon is the Bolas blocking magic also shielded Will, Rowan and Oko

We got 4 walkers who might drive things. While Garruk isn't actively hunting Liliana now I he still has ties to her as well as Oko finding out her name from Garruk (if Oko didn't already know her).

Just now thinking we did have Cerise remove the hedron so maybe that will tie into Zendikar 3?
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Post by clariwench » 4 years ago

5colorsrainbow wrote:
4 years ago

Just now thinking we did have Cerise remove the hedron so maybe that will tie into Zendikar 3?
I don't see how it would tie into it. It was just a necessary step in curing Garruk and reminding people of why it was there in the first place.
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Post by Caranthir » 4 years ago

I have read the whole thing today. Some more observations:

- I was right about defining the courts. What is interesting is that Embereth does not have a ruler, instead it is ruled by people's assembly (insert inevitable red = communist joke).

Linden is probably getting a card. I cannot quite see Algenus not getting one as well.

Elowen the Vantress loremage is too funny and too prominent not to get a card. I expect her to have hexproof and/or some kind of ability of not being able to be enchanted or able to get rid of Auras and other things. She was hexed as a child with a magic leeching hex (originally meant to keep her magic at bay) and as the result, no magic can hold an effect on her for long. This is also one of the reasons for Oko's defeat - he transforms her into an eagle (an effect usually permanent until the target's death), but the magic leeches off her and she therefore can bring help to the final confrontation.

I am almost sure we should see the other rulers - King Yorvo the giant, Locthwain queen Ayara...
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Post by Zazdor » 4 years ago

I, too, finished the novel(la). Some thoughts (spoilers ahead):

- I enjoyed the setting. With such a short novel, we seemed to get a whirlwind plot reminiscent of _Moons of Mirrodin_ where the characters quest around the world to hit most of the five colors. It's part of Magic's fabric, so there you go. We got some goblins (redcaps), some monsters, some knights, castles... the stuff we'd want.

- Is Will gay? There were a few moments (I think he blushed in response to Titus early on), and he seemed presented a bit more demurely. Rowan (loved her being called Ro) almost had a love interest; Will didn't. It doesn't matter for the plot, but I was intrigued by another gay male showing up (but without additional storytelling, we don't need a Dumbledore add-on).

- I'm not sure I understood how the portal worked if others could just fly in where they were needed at the end.

- The "twinned" spark is fun... and I want to know what that means!

- I was suspicious of Elowen for most of the novel. I was ready not to be surprised if she was truly Oko.

- It's purely a matter of preference, but I miss Garruk being cursed. He was intricately linked to Liliana's story, but now he seems removed from it. I had convinced myself that his appearance on Eldraine would lead into _Forsaken_ since that is due out in two months. Now, I am not so sure. Removing him from the Chain Veil plot felt a little like cheating. This is the first novel Garruk has appeared in (and the first written story in a couple years), so to remove him... I get it, as there are so many characters with so many story threads at this point, but I was hoping to bring him back into Lili's plot arch.

For the cost, I was pleased with the story. I thought Kate Elliott's character work for Core 2019 was stronger than here, but _The Wildered Quest_ was a fun introduction to the Eldraine. I'd purchase another similar ebook.

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Post by Caranthir » 4 years ago

Considering Will being gay - I think I recall he actually blushes when looking at *Cerise* several times and thinks "how things have been easier when they were younger" . So I do not think he is gay.

Considering the Wilds/portal - spot on. For some time, I was left wondering whether the Wilds are an adjacent dimension or a physical place. (Mainly - again - because of the obvious parallels between this and Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies, where the elvenland IS a parallel dimension). Now I am still not sure, but as headcanon, I see it as a physical place, but so distant and dangerous that without using the portal, you have practically zero chance to return back to the Realms alive.
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Post by Caranthir » 4 years ago

Another piece of art - this time apparently Algenus and Linden. Titled "Happily Ever After" on the Russian page where the twins were officially previewed.
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Post by user_938036 » 4 years ago

They speak of the hunt traveling vast distances and that it takes years to get where the twins were so it sounds like the portal is an abnormal method of getting into the wilds and normally you enter from the boarder.

It feels a little cheat to just up and heal garruk but it needed to happen, he needed to be freed from lily's story/curse if they want to actually use him. I honestly loved the way it was done, take out the hedron thinking its cursing him he goes wild due to the curse running rampant and in traditional foolish quest style they accidentally stumble upon the long lost item that heals him.

I'm almost certain we aren't going to get an Elowen card. They feel like the type of character created for the book and thus created long after the set was finalized. Which is sad but understandable.

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Post by clariwench » 4 years ago

It was made INCREDIBLY clear that Will is bi. He blushed just as much over Titus and he did with Cerise. They couldn't have made it more obvious unless they literally wrote "WILL IS BI" in bold letters in the book.

The portal just seems like a quicker way to get where they needed to go, and also considerably safer.
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