Chellyth:
 |
| Chellyth, as visualised by Alice Taylor |
This is the 9th in a series of pieces on characters and places
featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky.
This background information, isn’t covered in the book, but should 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 may use sections of the map, to indicate location,
along with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate,
links with characters. Perhaps I’ll indicate the way of life there with a short
anecdote or story. I won’t reveal any of the main story, either as already
published or as written in the series, merely enhance readers’ enjoyment of the
trilogy by providing more information. I hope this will give pleasure to those who’ve
bought the book and, perhaps, persuade others to take that step.
Pronunciation hints:
Chellyth – chell-ith
Por-Kildu – paw-kill-do
Dagla Kaz – pronounced
exactly as written.
Aklon-Dji – ak-lon-djy
(think of the Dj sound in the name of tennis player, Djokovic
Muhnilahm – murn-ill-arm
Names are pronounced
phonetically. But this is my take on them; how I hear them in my head. You may
pronounce them as you wish, of course; reading is, after all, active rather
than passive.
Chellyth is the female
half of a pair who lead the rejects, criminals and so-called deviants
imprisoned on The Point. I know some will balk at her lack of apparel, but,
like all those who live in her community, she lacks the means to make clothing.
She is 30ish, attractive, and a strong woman who exists in a very harsh
environment. She has to be tough to survive. Here she talks to our Fantasy
editor from Fantastic Books Publishing, where you can purchase the first book in the series: Joinings, A Seared Sky.
FE: So,
Chellyth, how do you fit into this fantastic story?
Chellyth: Fit
in? An interesting idea for the leader of a group of people rejected by the
rest of society, don’t you think?
FE: Rejected?
In what way, and why?
Chellyth: I
don’t know your world. But here, on the island of Muhnilahm, everything’s ruled
by a tyrant who holds the title of High Priest. Dagla Kaz is a cruel,
intolerant, bigoted and basically dishonest man. You get on the wrong side of
that bowelcreep and you’ve generally got two choices: an agonising death – he
loves to invent ever more painful ways to kill people – or escape to The Point.
FE: The
Point?
Chellyth: Por-Kildu,
who’s my partner, and I, are known as ‘The One’. We rule on The Point and give
sanctuary to those who either run away from the main part of the island or are
brought here as a punishment by the High Priest’s gang of corrupt officials,
the Holy Ones. This place is effectively
cut off from the rest of the island; a long narrow peninsula isolated by a huge
scar that runs the width of the landward end of The Point. It’s more or less
unscalable, except that Aklon Dji manages to get up and down it. He’s the High
Priest’s son and a man we admire more than any other.
FE: So,
you live a segregated existence on this Point?
Chellyth: Exist,
yes. We’ve no choice. There’s no way down the steep cliffs, unless you want to
kill yourself on the rocks below. And, as I said, only Aklon Dji seems to know
how to ascend the scar onto the main island. We’ve no fabric for clothes here,
the only water comes from a spring that dwells under the shadow of the small
copse of trees on the low hill. The rest of the land is arid and parched; home
to venomous snakes and carrion birds. We grow what little food we can on a
small piece of land hard by our village.
FE: Sounds
a hard life, Chellyth.
Chellyth: Hard?
It’s all I’ve ever known. I was born here. Por-Kildu, he’s different. He was
tortured by Dagla Kaz and then brought here to die. I restored him to health
and we became lovers. But he describes life on the main island, telling tales
of luxury and plenty. Yes. It’s a hard life.
FE: If
you’re governing a bunch of criminals, law-breakers and social outcasts, how do
you keep control?
Chellyth: Don’t
make judgments about people you’ve never met. My people are fine. They’re
victims of an unjust system. They’re not really criminals, except in the sense
they’ve broken unreasonable laws. It’s a
harsh land and I have to employ harsh rules. Break the rules of my society and
you’d better be prepared for a horrible death.
FE: Doesn’t
that make you as bad as Dagla Kaz?
Chellyth: Fool!
He has a choice, and he chooses to inflict pain and suffering for
entertainment. Nothing to do with imposing his will or governing the people: he
has the Holy Ones and an army for that. I have to keep control of people who
have nothing. You can’t take anything away from them, except their lives. And
some of them would welcome that, so I have to make it a difficult ending. It’s
the only way to rule here, as you’d know if you’d ever lived in such a place.
FE: Do
you have dreams, hopes?
Chellyth: Aklon
Dji will save us all one day soon. He’ll overthrow his evil father and allow us
back onto the main island. Then we can lead normal lives.
FE: Sounds
a bit unlikely.
Chellyth: You
think our hero can’t fulfil his promise to us? What do you know?
FE:
One man against all the High Priest’s forces? There’s a price on his head,
isn’t there? Suppose they catch and kill him?
Chellyth: I’ve
nothing more to say to you. You delight in inflicting pain on a repressed
people. Leave me be. Go! You’re no friend of mine.
FE: A
remarkable woman, but I get the feeling she’s delusional. Mind you, if things are that hard, who can
blame her for clinging to a dream?
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