Book: Gold

Location: in the Grimhold Mountains, making Trebond “Tortall’s first line of defense” (?) from Scanra in the north

History: Trebond was a traditional fief in which inheritance could only be secured through the male line.  When Thom died in 439 H.E., control of the fief was automatically reverted to the Crown.  King Jonathan IV then bestowed the title of baron and deeds, lands, and income* of Trebond to its current manservant, Coram Smythesson, who had plenty of experience in running the fief in the absence of either his lord, Thom, or an heir. (1, 2)  It is presumed that Trebond is no longer a fief in which only male heirs can inherit. (1)

Members:

Current

• Coram Smythesson, Baron
• Rispah, formerly of the Cooper family, Baroness (.m)
• Jonthair, Heir/Sir (3)
• Alinna (3)
• Thomsen, Sir (?) [3]
• Mylec (3)
• Daran (3)
• Liam (3)
• Thayine (3)
• Rose (3)
• Elenna (3)
• Buran (3)

Past (former, deceased, etc.)

• Alan, Lord
• Marinie, formerly of Tasride (.m)
• Thom, Lord
• Alanna, married into the Pirate’s Swoop line
• Lionel, Sir/Deputy Provost of Port Caynn

Timeline:

• 242 H.E. – Lionel’s eldest son is killed by the Sweating Sickness
• 419 H.E., May (*) – Alanna and Thom are born
• 434 H.E., Late Winter/Early Spring (*) – Lord Alan dies, and Thom becomes Lord of Trebond; Coram returns to Trebond
• 439 H.E., July – Thom dies

Misc.:

• Jonathir is a knight, Mylec is with the Queen’s Riders, Daran is in the King’s Own, and Liam is in the army.  Originally, Thomsen was a knight who was also with the King’s Own and Alinna was with Mylec in the Queen’s Riders, but Tammy has — intentionally or unintentionally — changed the facts.  Instead, Thomsen is a squire to Sir Emeric of Legann and Alinna is a part of the Queen’s Ladies. (3, 4)
• During the Scanran War, Trebond served as a supply depot and hospital.  Coram, too old for combat or scouting, coordinated supplies and housed troops while Rispah worked in the hospital.  Their children served in the war through their respective organizations.  Jonthair fought as a knight; Alinna rode with the Queen’s Ladies, helping Thayet keep the rest of the realm in order; Thomsen, with his knight master, served near the City of the Gods, and Mylec, with the Queen’s Riders, was stationed near Frasrlund.  Daran and Liam respectively served as scouts in the King’s Own and the army.  Thayine also worked as a scout, although it is unknown if she had done it at home or as a part of a group. (4)

Notes:

*Though Alanna is no longer entitled to Trebond’s income, she still has that of Olau, which serves her well.

(.m) – by marriage
(?) – uncertain; may or may not have been retconned

See also:

• Alanna
• Coram

Location: On the coast of Emerald Ocean; a day’s ride south of Port Caynn

History: King Jonathan IV pardoned George Cooper, the former King of the Rogue, ennobling him by giving him the title of baron as well as the lands, deeds, and income that used to belong to the previous lord of Pirate’s Swoop.  At first, George protested, but gave way as the newly crowned Jon was in need of a confidential agent whom he could absolutely trust:

“A confidential agent needs a home and income.  His comings and goings, particularly at court, cannot be remarked upon, which means he must be a noble” (Lioness Rampant).

Members:

Current

• George Cooper, Baron/Second-in-command Spymaster of Tortall, “Whisper Man”
• Alanna, formerly of Trebond, Baroness/Heir to Olau/Sir/King’s Champion (.m)
• Thom
• Alan
• Alianne “Aly,” Spymistress of Copper Isles, “Duani”

Timeline:

• 400 H.E. (*) – George Cooper is born
• 419 H.E., May (*) – Alanna of Trebond and her twin brother, Thom, are born
• 439 H.E. – George and Alanna are married
• 443 H.E. (1) – Thom is born
• 445 H.E. (*, 1) – Alan and Alianne are born
• 449 H.E. – Battle for Pirate’s Swoop, in which the fief was surrounded by unmarked armies and navy
• 463 H.E. – Alan is taken on as Lord Knight Commander Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie Peak’s squire; Queen Dovasary of Copper Isles requests Aly to stay on as her spymistress
• 464 H.E. (*) – Aly and Nawat Crow are married; In April (2), Aly gives birth to triplets.

Misc.:

• Alanna and George were married before the Goddess, with their close friends in attendance. (3)
• Thom will inherit Pirate’s Swoop and Olau after his parents’ death, and Alan will be allowed to live there, but as a knight, he’ll be employed by the Crown unless he’s needed at home. (4)
• During Trickster’s Choice, Thom was studying at university as a mage and Alan, at the late age of thirteen, dispassionately decided to go for his knighthood (1):
  

  Alan just felt that if Thom wasn’t going to be a knight, he ought to, and he rather liked the role. It had nothing to do with Aly or Thom or even Mother–the Crown just needed knights, they had a very nice life thanks to the properties granted to them by the Crown, and he felt they could use a knight in normal service. He likes to pretend that his other sibs are the clever ones, but he’s no fool himself. He just prefers to take the course of least cleverness. One day the gods will catch up with Alan and he’ll have to prove he’s good for something more, but until then, I’ll let him laze while he jousts and fights bandits and the like. (5)

• As a page and squire, Alan “took a lot of sneerage in his training” because his father was newly ennobled, even if his mother was bluer-blooded than the King. (6)
• On Aly’s children:
  

  Alianne Crow, Spymistress to the Crown, was delivered of triplets in April, to the rejoicing of her mate, Nawat. In accordance with raka custom, which decrees that children should not have the same name of those who have gone before, the two girls are named Ochobai and Ulasu, and the boy is named Junim. Her royal majesty Queen Dovasary, and the captain of her guard, Taybur Sibigat, will stand as godsparents to the triplets. According to Chenaol, head cook at the palace, Aly’s first remark when shown her children was, “Thank the Goddess they didn’t come out as eggs. That’s what I was afraid of.” (2)

• Why Alanna was better off with George than Jon:
  

  I explain that Alanna would be a disaster as queen, which is a diplomat’s job, while when she enters any place where George is, she feels that she has come home.  That romantic love doesn’t last, and that it’s important to build up a lasting love and a lasting friendship for a relation to exist for the long term.  Sooner or later Jonathan would run out of patience with Alanna’s temper and her lack of graces, and she would always feel like she couldn’t put a foot right.  She can relax with George, and be herself.  [...]  What George and Alanna have is solid.  When they fight, they don’t feel like their world is ripped into shreds.  They know it will continue because at bottom, they love each other.  When people are “in love,” every little spat is something that has to be mended with cement or the whole thing will go to pieces. (7)

• George when he’s angry at Alanna and what she learned:

He believes in telling her he’s angry, then retiring from the field until he either gets a grip on himself or Alanna comes to apologize (if it’s something she said), or talk it out. She did learn to apologize after some years of being with him, though it half-kills her. Of course, Alanna will be fair if it kills her, and while she’s felt a little giddy while apologizing, it hasn’t killed her yet.

She learned very early on that if she valued George, she would watch her temper around him. I can’t think of anything that crushes her more than him saying, “You’ve disappointed me, lass.” He’s definitely of the “I’ll talk to you when I won’t be vicious” school of fights. Sometimes he’s wrong, and he’s quick to realize it and make it up to her. (Who do you think she learned it from?) (8)

Notes:

(.m) – by marriage

See also:

• George
• Alanna
• Alianne

Did you face a backlash from fans over Alannna choosing George over Jon in the lioness series?

Tammy: Not a backlash, prezackly.  People do ask me why, and I explain that Alanna would be a disaster as queen, which is a diplomat’s job, while when she enters any place where George is, she feels that she has come home.  That romantic love doesn’t last, and that it’s important to build up a lasting love and a lasting friendship for a relation to exist for the long term.  Sooner or later Jonathan would run out of patience with Alanna’s temper and her lack of graces, and she would always feel like she couldn’t put a foot right.  She can relax with George, and be herself.

The pro-Jon fan usually doesn’t like that explanation, and s/he usually goes away still wishing it had been Jon, but at least s/he understands my thinking!

George and Alanna still have plenty of romantic love floating around when she comes home. or is that the lasting love you mean.   personally, i think there’s a companionship love, a deep comitment type love, and then the physical romantic love that all have to work together to make a good match.

Tammy: But it’s not that swoony, hearts-and-flowers, I’ll-die-if-I-don’t-see-him/her, s/he-has-a-special-glow-to-her-him, fireworks kind of love, the giddy, dizzy, make-make-your-friends-yark-up-hairballs kind.  Haven’t you ever been totally caught up in someone at school, and come back the next year and wondered if you weren’t possibly on drugs or something the year before?  What George and Alanna have is solid.  When they fight, they don’t feel like their world is ripped into shreds.  They know it will continue because at bottom, they love each other.  When people are “in love,” every little spat is something that has to be mended with cement or the whole thing will go to pieces.

Thayet and Jon appreciated each other’s circumstances at first, and understood they would be a good match and a good solution to each one’s problems.  Then, as they got to know each other, they began to really like each other’s cool dispositions, their common sense about the problems facing royalty, and the particular elegance with which each dealt with their daily lives.  They had known the other was an attractive person before, but they had their fill of attractive people at some point in their lives.  But the other was . . . restful on the eyes.  Calm, and graceful.  Energetic without being frenetic.  Appreciative of elegant things, like art, music, and dancing.  Neither of them lost their heads over a wedding, even though everyone around them was going crazy.  Both savored their wedding night, and Jonathan handled it with tact and kindness, for which Thayet was deeply grateful.  She knew few men would have behaved as well as he did, or gone to so much trouble to make her laugh.  And so it went, day by day.

Love.  It’s a nice thing.

And what do you think of love at first sight, and eternal love, as well as only having One True Love, or do you believe there is more than one?

Tammy: Remember I’m a cranky Old Person with arthritis and a cynical world view.  Moreover, I usually ended up with guys that other women had passed over (because they were blind).  I tend to think that love at first sight is more like a brain-frying surge of hormones.  Eternal love–well, I don’t know about eternity, but for this time it has to be shored up by respect, liking, friendship, and shared interests, or eternal love will die.  I prefer the solid, less fireworky kind, the kind that makes you soup when you have a cold, and will search all the late night groceries for Nilla Wafers because you had a bad day.  The kind that will go with you to the hospital, when your love hates hospitals.

I don’t believe in One True Love.  I think it’s an agreeable fantasy that sells romance novels, but the real world gives us real people with their good sides and their flaws.  One True Love would be someone from the Doll House, someone who is entirely configured to reflect who we are and what we want, including “one true love.”  After a while you’d just want to smack them to see if there’s a human being in there.

Also, you know how it is when you’re having a really big day, like a major party, or a wedding, and there’s a lot of excitement, and it’s all good and fun, and by around five you wish you were four so you could just sit down on the ground and cry for an hour?  I can’t help but think that’s how my one true love would make me feel–great to a point, and then I’d get tired and fussy and I’d throw up all the candy I’d eaten.

I don’t even know if that makes sense, but I tried to explain!

SOURCE: [Random Buzz: Teens at Random: 1, 2]

1. How many siblings does Kel actually have? The books mention three brother and I think three sisters, but there are sure a lot of nieces and nephews at Mindelan for just a few siblings that couldn’t have been married for that long.

Tammy: Let’s see–in descending order of age: Anders is the oldest.  He and his wife Vorinna have five kids, of whom Lachren is the oldest; Lachren’s now a page.  Patricine* is next of the sibs; she’s married to Toshuro noh Akaneru; they have two kids and live in the Yamani Islands with his family.  Inness and his wife Tilaine have three kids.  Conal is an unmarried knight.  Demadria** recently married Gavin*** haMinch; they have one on the way.  Adalia**** married Merovec of Nond; they have two, having ::cough:: gotten started early ::cough::.  Oranie married Ortien of Hannalof.  Avinar is a scholar/teacher at the City of Gods.  And Kel is the youngest.

2. How far back do the noble books (Book of Gold, Book of Silver) go? What’s the cut off date between the books?

Tammy: The Book of Gold begins 630 years before Alanna’s time, when Tortall, a state of the fallen Thanic Empire that once covered all of the Eastern Lands, set itself up as a realm of its own, setting down the names of the ruling families in a parchment book with gilded letters and plates of gold for the front and back.  Since the sheets of parchment were set it with no way to add unless the book was taken apart, the length of time and the number of families listed in it ran as long as there was space in the book!  The Book of Silver began 170 years later, with the same construction, only in silver.  Once that ran out of pages, 245 years later, The Book of Copper was begun, and they’re still using that.

3. Will we ever see any of the Yamani Islands firsthand? What we hear about them from Kel sounds interesting, as do the women from the Islands ;]

Tammy: I don’t have any plans, but that doesn’t mean I won’t ever get there!

4. How far back does the Conte-Naxen partnership (for lack of a better word) go? How are the families related or have the Naxens always just worked with the Contes?

Tammy: They try not to intermarry too often, but they’ve worked together off and on for a couple of hundred years, what with one thing and another.  A Naxen was one of the Old King’s best generals, his right hand, and he married a Naxen third cousin.

5. Is there any map, even a sketch, that you have of the whole Eastern Lands? I would like to see Sarain, Maren, the Roof of the World, etc. in relation to Tortall.

Tammy: Not yet–I only have the overall one for LIONESS RAMPANT.  By a companion to Tortall is in the works, and I promise, there will be more maps!

NOTES FROM Words of Tamora Pierce
*This is the second time Tammy has called her Patricine, as opposed to Patrissa in Tamora Pierce Pronunciation Glossary.  It is unconfirmed as to what her true name is.
**Demadry according to Tamora Pierce Pronunciation Glossary, and Demadina according to this post on Sheroes.  It is unconfirmed as to what her true name is.
***Gelvan according to this post on Sheroes.
****Originally mistyped as Adelia, although Tammy has made this mistake before.

SOURCE: [Random Buzz: Teens at Random]

1. Did Trebond participate much in the Scanran War? In Afta Alanna mentions that Trebond deals with Scanran bandits most years – were Coram and Rispah heavily involved in the war too?

Tammy: They served as a supply depot and hospital, for one.  Jonthair fought as a knight; Alinna rode with the Queen’s Ladies,* helping Thayet keep the rest of the realm in order; Thomsen was squire to Emeric of Legann,** serving near the City of the Gods, and Mylec was with the Queen’s Riders, near Frasrlund.  Daran, Liam, and Thayine worked as scouts.  Coram is too old for combat or scouting, so he coordinated supplies and housed troops coming through while Rispah worked in the hospital.  Is that heavily involved enough for you?

2. How did the Scanran war end? After Kel got rid of the Killing Devices, was it just a series of battles when the Tortallans bit-by-bit kept on winning and killing the Scanrans, or was there one huge battle where they smashed them?

Tammy: It’s nearly impossible to stage a huge, set-piece battle in mountain country–there are too many places to hide, and no clear lines of sight that extend far enough to do any good.  No, the fighting piddled out over the next two years, a skirmish here, a clash there.  Killing Blaise just got rid of the killing devices.  It ended finally in the spring of 464.

3. In Trickster’s Choice you say that Alanna wields the Crown’s authority when neither Jon or Thayet are present, and you’ve said on Sheroes that her job basically means that she’s either fighting bandits or is by the King’s side 24/7. What does the King’s Champion actually do?

Tammy: When a serious issue of law comes up somewhere, something that must be settled in that place, by the monarchs, and neither of them can go, they send the Champion, who is permitted to speak the Crown’s justice.  This is pretty rare, but it does happen.  If Alanna is present at a quarrel of some kind where people refuse to take the matter to court, or if they can’t afford to take it to court and they don’t want a village court to decide, they can agree to accept the Champion’s ruling.  This is less rare.  Most often, a noble will be brought to court on a matter of law, and that noble will insist on trial under the original laws of that kingdom, as is every noble’s right.  It’s a risk, because everyone knows Jonathan wants everyone to rely on the courts of law and their judgment.  Under the original law, the defendant’s guilt or innocence can be revealed in trial by combat.  The defendant chooses his or her champion, while the Crown is always represented by the King’s Champion.  (This is where Alanna being glued to the king most of the time comes in.)

This choice is not as common as it once was.  In the beginning of Jon and Thayet’s reign, every noble with a grievance big enough to give them combat as an option chose it, because they were convinced the stories about Alanna were inflated and they would beat her handily.  After six deaths, Jon, Alanna, and Thayet sat down and worked out something else.  Now Alanna maims her opponent, and the requests for trial by combat fell by three-quarters from those first four years.  Apparently being handicapped for life is not nearly so romantic, or noble, as dying in combat.

Does she also involve herself in politics – convincing nobles and priests and merchants to agree to certain laws that Jon and Thayet want?

Tammy: I was just informed, very firmly, she does not.  According to her, that sort of nonsense is for people who care to waste their lives gabbling like hens.

Or is she just Jon’s slave? ,

Tammy: I won’t pass that on, if it’s all the same.  I have to live here, too.

4. How old was Duke Gareth when Gary was born? Does Gary have any siblings?

Tammy: No, Gary’s an only child–his father married Roanna of Irimor when he was in his 40s, having spent most of his time until then soldiering.

5. How old was Roald (Jon’s dad) when he inherited the throne? and how old was he when Jon was born? Did Lianne have problems with fertility, or was Jon’s birth so bad that she was told she can’t have any more children?,

Tammy: Roald was 26 when he married Lianne, 19; Roald was 31 when Lianne had Jon.  Lianne had problems with fertility and a couple of miscarriages, then her pregnancy was so rough, and she had so many health problems, that she was advised not to try again.  She did anyway when Jon was three, because she knew her duty, but she nearly died, and after that she couldn’t get pregnant again.  That child was stillborn.

6. do the Bazhir still think that the Burning Brightly One and the Night One destroyed the ysandir, or have they accepted it was their Voice and the Woman Who Rides Like a Man?

Tammy: They have no problem at all with believing that the Voice and the Woman could not be both.

NOTES FROM Words of Tamora Pierce
*In an earlier post at Random Buzz, Alinna was a member of the Queen’s Riders, not the Queen’s Ladies.
**In an earlier post at Random Buzz, Thomsen was a knight who served in the King’s Own, not a squire serving a knight master.

SOURCE: [Random Buzz: Teens at Random]

Tammy: I plan on quite a few more Tortall books, and heaven knows what they’ll all be about.  Right now I’ve got two Numair books, then Maura’s book under contract.  After that will come one or two more books about Kel.  After that I’m not sure about the order, but the books I definitely have planned are ones centered around Aly, Dove, and Dove’s choice of a consort; the lives of Aly’s children, particularly Ochobai, who is a Little Person; Neal’s daughter, who will go for her knighthood in a time when there are far more girls training as knights than there were in Kel’s day.  There’s also Daine’s children Sarralyn and Rikash, who have to find their way.  Rikash will be telling that story, because I’m terrified of his sister, but he isn’t.

I think that’s all I have in mind right now.  There may be more with Irnai and Tobe from the Kel books, and Kaddar and Kalasin, and Alanna’s sons.  Certainly there will be requests from fans for other characters who appear in the books, and who knows who my brain will pick up and say, “You know, there is a story for this one.”  My brain lives a life of its own, wild and free.  I just try to keep up.

SOURCE: [Random Buzz: Teens at Random]

What is Kally’s son’s name? And is there a brother or sister on the way for Lianokami yet?

Tammy: Kally* and Kaddar’s son is named Binur.  No sibs for him or for Liano that I know of yet!

Was she horribly ugly or rude or something? Did she end up marrying anyone? And was she Neal’s mother’s younger or older sister?

Tammy: She was bony and plain.  The sharp cheekbones, wide mouth, and pointy chin that make Neal’s face so interesting doesn’t work so well on someone with thin lips and sallow skin.  However, she did have a substantial dowry as the oldest daughter, and made herself a decent marriage in 441 with–brace yourself–Lord Martin of Meron.  And yes, they have five children, two sons and three daughters, but no, I don’t know their names! (yet)

So, in future books, will be seeing more of Thayet and Jon?  And of their kids? I would especially love to read about Kalasin and Kadder and the challenges they face in ruling Carthak(?).

Tammy: I don’t know about the princes and princesses, but we’ll see a younger Thayet and Jon in the second Numair book, when he comes to Tortall.  That one takes place not long after LIONESS RAMPANT, so we’ll get an idea of how they handled themselves in the beginning of their reign.

We don’t see Kally, but we do see a bit of Kaddar in a short story that I wrote that’s being published in THE DRAGON BOOK, edited by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann, coming out in November.  My story is “The Dragon’s Tale,” and while Kaddar, Daine, and Numair make guest appearances, the main story revolves around Kitten and Numair’s horse Spots.

NOTES FROM Words of Tamora Pierce
*Originally mistyped as Sarai.

SOURCE: [Random Buzz: Teens at Random: 1, 2, 3]

What was Alanna’s mother’s name and what Fief was she from?

Tammy: Her name was Marinie of Tasride.

she’d be an ancestor of Seaver’s?

Tammy: Yes, she would have been Seaver’s great-aunt.

SOURCE: [Teens at Random: Random Buzz]

I was recently re-reading the Daine series and I have a concern to ask you about.  After you decided to pair up Daine and Numair, did you ever get anyone expressing doubt about it.  I mean, about the fact that a 30 year old man was in love with his 16 year old student?

Tammy: Occasionally I do, and my answer hasn’t changed.  In some ways, Numair is emotionally far younger than his age (he’s 27, actually), and Daine is much older than her years emotionally.  It didn’t feel wrong to me.  If their relationship had begun this way, it would have been beyond creepy, but it happened when Daine was no longer his student, but his traveling companion and co-worker.  He regards her as his magical equal, and in her field, she is.  Also, and this is something I end up saying time after time, this is a medieval period, when it was far more common for young women to marry much older men (who had established themselves in life and could afford to support a wife).  I mention as often as I can in the books that 16 is the age to marry among the lower classes, and some marry even younger.  I really cheat in some ways by having noblewomen marry at 18, when in our world they might marry at 9 or 10!  Very rarely was a woman able to marry someone her own age.

I’m sorry if this still makes you uncomfortable, but the truth is that none of my editors or my agent, who are very careful people, ever mentioned anything.  I have promised my fans I won’t have such a large gap between romantic characters again, though!  (Can I help it I like older men and always have?!)

Also, what was the reaction of Daine and Numair’s friends to them falling in love?  Were they surprised or did they see it coming?

Tammy: Buri turned to Onua and said, “Well!  Look who finally woke up!”

Apparently the only ones who were surprised were Daine and Numair.  As I say, marriage between an older man and a younger woman is common.

SOURCE: [Random Buzz: Teens at Random]

I assumed that they got together or Neal started massively crushing as opposed to just crushing on her that night of the mages’ party, but what happened in between then and Neal’s Ordeal?

Tammy: They’d just run into each other here and there, have a dance at an occasional event, sit together when they were hanging out with Kel.  It was all small stuff over an extended period, but obviously it was enough!

SOURCE: [Random Buzz: Teens at Random]