The 3rd in a series of pieces on characters and places
featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky.
This is background information, not covered in the book, but intended to
enhance the reading experience. For some of my people, there’ll be a character
drawing, supplied by Alice Taylor, maybe a video interview, and accompanying
script. I may do short pieces of fiction, deepening knowledge of certain minor
characters as well.
For the places, I’ll use sections of the map, to indicate location, along
with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate, linking
it with characters. Perhaps indicate life there with a short anecdote or story.
I won’t reveal any of the story, either as already published or as written into
the series, merely enhance readers’ enjoyment of the trilogy by providing more
information. I hope this gives pleasure to those who’ve bought the book and,
perhaps, persuades others to take that step.
Pronunciation hints:
Shaulah – shaw-lah
Okkyntalah – ock-in-tar-lah
Tumalind – tum-a-lind
Character’s names are pronounced phonetically.
My take on the names; how I hear them in my head.
You may pronounce them any way you wish; reading is, after all, an active
rather than a passive occupation.
Here’s a short piece about
the only named animal character in the series.
Shaulah, a hunting dog:
Okkyntalah, a major player
through the series, is a hunter by trade. He raised his hunting dog, Shaulah,
from a pup, taken from the litter of a farming neighbour. Dogs are not common
on the island of Muhnilahm, generally used either as hunting companions or by
farmers eager to keep marauding beasts away from their stock. Pet animals are
not part of the custom or tradition of the islanders.
Shaulah is as much at home
in water as on land. Obedient, loyal and devoted to her master, she makes an
ideal companion. From his point of view, the fact that she also adores his
beloved, Tumalind, is a bonus.
She lives outside. A
working companion and beneficial tool of Okkyntalah’s occupation, Shaulah’s
part in the tale is surprisingly important. She is intelligent, trustworthy and
silent unless required to alert her master to danger.
She appears fairly early
in the narrative and you can follow her progress through the story as she
travels with her master on his quest.
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