Eddis, Attolia, Sounis

sorry,
but I figured that's what this community is for.

I guess I should proof read.

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The thing she "hadn't known she possessed" refers most obviously to Hamiathes's Gift. (The underlying meaning of her heart is nice, too, but it's more like foreshadowing, I think,since she's not aware of any soft feelings for him yet). Given that Eugenides, after stealing the Gift, became the biggest folk hero Eddis had ever known, Attolia must have come off feeling like she was the dupe in that story -- she let him steal the Gift, and then she let him and the magus and Sophos escape. She doesn't like to appear less than all-powerful, clever and dangerous.
As to ages, I'll defer to Emerald, who apparently has this all figured out.

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I agree with Philia - she's referring to Hamiathes's Gift. As for ages - I think Emerald worked out that Gen was probably around 19 in KoA, but I might be wrong. I'll let Emerald confirm that. I thought that age would make sense, young enough to have just finished his final growth spurt at around 18, but old enough to be getting married and becoming king of a neighbouring country.

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I totally missed the Hamiathes's Gift thing. Well, I'm glad I asked.

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I was thinking 15-16 in The Thief, 17-19 in QoA and 20ish in KoA, so that's about what I thought. I just was afraid I was making him too old.

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Yes, it's tricky because Attolia keeps thinking of him as a boy. But you have to remember that a)she feels older than she really is, because she never had much of a youth; b)she's in denial of her feelings for him, so his youth is a convenient excuse to not take him seriously;and c)he's short and looks younger than he is.
I grew an inch in college! Some people stop growing at 12. So a growth spurt doesn't give specific information as to age, just a general idea.

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peggy-2.livejournal.com

I thought he stole her peace of mind. If he could come and go in her palace at will, he was a danger to both her and her throne.

The threat of Gen is what kept Sounis in line (and out of Eddis).

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emerald-happy.livejournal.com

I thought it was Hamiathes gift and maybe her heart.

Ages: In the Disney Adventures story, Gen is 10 and Eddis is just about to become queen: her father is ill and her brothers dead. In The Thief, it is mentioned that Eddis has ruled for 5 years, making Gen 15-ish in The Thief. In QoA, Eddis has ruled 7 years so Gen must be 17-18. In KoA, he must be 19-20.

Megan also says (I asked her about the ages) that "Sooner or later, Gen's age and Attolia's will be more fixed."

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nutmeg3.livejournal.com

I thought exactly the same as

peggy_2: her peace of mind. I don't think she'd feel as haunted by losing Hamiathes's Gift, and it's too soon for her to realize that what she's really in the process of losing is her heart.

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I grew an inch in college! Some people stop growing at 12. So a growth spurt doesn't give specific information as to age, just a general idea.

:D That makes me feel a little better about my height, I'm the shortest in my family. Good point, I gues that does widen up the possible age range a litte.

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That's an interesting idea, it hadn't ever occurred to me. It does make sense.

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Peace of mind is a nice additional layer of meaning -- but surely Attolia never had that at all? I don't think she's haunted by the loss of Hamiathes's Gift -- that'd be the wrong word for it. But it was a big public embarassment for her that Gen was in her prison, with the Gift and Sounis's heir, and she lost them all. She is uneasy enough on her throne to seethe over any kind of embarassment. We don't actually see anyone snickering at her for it -- you just have to imagine that a lot of snickering went on between Thief and QoA.

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Those ages for Eugenides sound good. I just have a problem with him being too young when he gets married.

So since you mentioned Attolia's age, do you have any ideas there? I was thinking 3-5 years older than Gen. Again, I'd have a problem with her being too much older than Gen when they get married. If there ages are 24 and 19 that's ok but 28 and 19 is too much of an age difference for people that young (although I'm sure it happens all of the time).

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What's this Disney Adventures story? I've never heard of that.

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jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com

you can always edit your posts. ^_^

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Hmm, 28 and 19 wouldn't bother me at all, but then I'm closer in age to Phresine, so they all sound like kids to me...
I think of them as maybe 26 and 19. No evidence or anything, just my gut feeling.

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Isn't Hamiathes's Gift passed down through the monarchs of Eddis? Is it just because the temple where the Gift is kept is in Attolia that the Queen of Attolia feels she owns Hamiathes's Gift?

~Feir Dearig (who hasn't read QoA in a while and apologizes if the above is totally wrong)

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Yes, because the temple was in Attolia. But the embarassment goes deeper, because she had Ambiades in her pay, trying to thwart the magus from getting the Gift. And then she had her enemies, AND the Gift, in her prison and they slipped away.

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willow-41z.livejournal.com

Did she really ever have any peace of mind, though? She always had to worry about the barons and Eddis and Sounis and then the Medes. It doesn't sound like a restful job. Also she had to worry if she was turning into a monster, as evidenced by the stone-face thing.

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nutmeg3.livejournal.com

I see what you mean, but I think there's a peace of mind that's not connected to politics or "stability" or anything like that. In her case, I think she had a sense that she was who she was destined to be, for better or worse, and that she knew what her life and future were, even though they weren't entirely happy. I think she was, in a way, resigned to unhappiness, particularly personal unhappiness, and that felt safe in a bizarre way. Eugenides changed all that. Here was someone who could get physically close to her unnoticed, and that had to be unsettling and prey on her. It set him apart, made him an enigma - why was he interested, for one thing. He was beyond the known parameters of her day to day and totally unpredictable, while the barons' self-interest was totally predictable in the way it drove them. Mysteries are unsettling, hence...no peace of mind.

Or I'm just talking out of my hat.

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peggy-2.livejournal.com

I hadn't thought it out that far, but what you are saying makes sense to me.

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