Coman and Edirr

[tagmeth]

I'm finally working on Novel 11 again, and find a potentially disastrous gap in my memory.  It's important to the plot that the Coman and the Edirr are backed by different major houses in the Riverland, but my notes don't make clear which by which.  Although both are small houses, neither the Edirr nor the Coman is very interested in national

Comments

[mindstalk]

Yeah, the Coman were pretty clearly Caineron-aligned. IIRC the Coman Matriarch 'yapped' in support of Caineron interests in _Seeker's Mask_. Though, IIRC part of the politics of _Dark of the Moon_ was about a new Coman head, so the current leader, approved by Torisen, might be more neutral. IIRC Tori approved a more hostile but competent leader over the friendly fool that Adric wanted.

As for Edirr, I think of them as Knorth-friendly neutral, like Brandon. If you need a major backer, might be Brandon, though I'm not sure if they were so small as to need one.

Blocs, especially drawing on how the dorms are placed in the map in Bound in Blood:

Caineron-Randir-Coman

Knorth-Ardeth-Jaran

Brandon-Edirr-Danior

Though I'm not sure the third is actually an aligned bloc, vs. just the leftovers. And Danior's Lord Holly is bone-kin to Torisen, plus the second smallest house. And Jaran might have been more neutral with the old guy in charge, except that Jaran is _proper_ so kind of supports the Knorth/Highlord by default, but clearly Kirien has

[tagmeth]

Thanks for the information!

All of this stirs my memory, plus I found a section in Gates ("High Council") where the Edirr pledge to Tori although you're right that they aren't very serious about it.

I'm thinking that the Coman are luke warm for the Caineron due to Caldane's big house power grab , but Caldane might claim to represent them in the current conflict just to make trouble.

Anyway, this all shows me what I have to tweak.

[pyoro_2]

"Randir, Coman, and Caineron from east to west along the north wing; Jaran, Knorth, and Ardeth along the west; Danior, Edirr and Brandan from west to east along the south. By chance or design, this arrangement grouped allies and enemies, with a scattering of neutrals between them."
It's from To Ride a Rathorn.

Don't know who those mysterious neutrals are supposed to be, but that's what's said there.

But yeah, I think I had the same impression. I think this topic is also brought up when teams are formed for that capture-the-flag game, let me just check.
Mh, yeah, sorta, though there it's Caineron-Randir-Coman, Ardeth-Jaran-Edirr, Knorth-Brandan-Danior. Though Ardeth and Knorth are split here because the three lordans are picked as leaders, so that causes some shuffling around.

Interestingly though Jame picks Danior before Edirr.
"Knorth?"
"Danior." The smallest house of all, with only twenty-five cadets at the college, but bone-kin.

Kinda hard to say how formal and permanent those things are, I suppose.

[ext_1241065]

Coman: Korey was appointed by Tori but is related to Caineron. A comment made a few times is "his house hadn’t yet decided if it supported the Knorth or the Caineron". They've been hostile to Jame in Tentir but she's been winning them over.

Edirr: A nuisance house, they raid and tease Coman (and Caineron) and don't seem to realise this may cause someone to blow. In DOTM Adric said for a council vote "The Edirr twins will be swayed by their whimsy," so they're not in either camp

[tagmeth]

I was trying to remember the name of the Coman lord. Thanks for jolting my memory! I was thinking that his house might be undecided, but in the new novel Caldane is going to claim it as an ally just to cause trouble and order the Commandant to support it.

Also, the Edirr are going to trigger a major problem for the Kencyrath as a whole.

So I guess I'm on the right track after all, which is a relief.

[ext_1241065]

The Edirr will cause trouble for everyone? Surprised I am not.

Coman : If it helps
Eldest son Demoth, half Ardeth fool, Younger son Korey.
Demoth got over 200 Kendar killed in the White Hills through stupidity, Korey blamed Tori for the deaths. Tori deposed Demoth for this who tried to kill Tori only to be killed by Korey saving Tori. Caldane may still be angry over this. So there's a lot of potential blaming and hating there, how much Korey has moved on has never been discussed.

[pyoro_2]

White Hills is the battle Ganth fought and lost, I think you mean the Cataracts battle against the Horde ;)

I also think you are wrong about Caldane? If anything, Ardeth would be annoyed.
"Demoth, the son in question, was half an Ardeth and had virtually promised to follow his lead in all High Council votes."
(e: now that I think about it I think Ardeth commented something like "good riddance" on this?)

That's why that decision about who to appoint was a bit of a topic, because at this stage Tori is still seen as under Ardeth influence, and having another Ardeth supporter would strengthen that tie (and the power of that "alliance" overall). On the other hand, Korey is preferred by the Coman, however, he's seen as more likely to side with Caldane as he's got bloodties there.

Tori ultimately decides that competence matters more than political allegiance and thus picks him despite being vaguely Caineron aligned.

Loss of confidence

[ext_5608140]

Sorry to hear about your loss of confidence. You mentioned in a previous post about depression and it perhaps being related.

I was suffering from major depression which seemed resistant to all treatments. That is until I tried ketamine treatment. It doesn't work for everyone, but it was a lifesaver for me. Ketamine "regrows" neural connections in parts of the brain, and I found that as my treatments progressed, not only did it improve my depression, my creativity and spiritual connections started returning, as well.

If you aren't familiar with ketamine treatments for depression, and antidepressants don't seem to be working, it might be worth investigating.

Cheers from a very longtime fan,
Leslie

Re: Loss of confidence

[tagmeth]

Thanks for the information! I'll look into this.

Coman & Edirr

[firbholg]

In Dark of the Moon, while you are initially establishing Riverland politics and houses, you clearly align Coman with the Caineron. Torisen needs to appoint a new Lord Coman of Kraggen, and can choose between a competent leader who favors the Caineron, or a weakling who will support him as Highlord out of gratitude. Tori chooses the lord he thinks will best serve the house, over his own interest. It works out anyway. But consider also Caldane's proposal to disenfranchise the smaller houses. Coman is proud. That can't sit well with them. And it's typical of Caldane to overlook the possibility of his schemes backfiring on him. I don't think Caineron dominance of Coman can be taken for granted

Re: Coman & Edirr

[tagmeth]

You're certainly right that Caldane doesn't have much foresight, not unlike a current political "leader." I'd forgotten about the Coman pride, maybe because they don't have many chances to exert it. They're shaping up re: the Edirr in a way I didn't expect in the current novel. Caldane really shouldn't assume that they are in his camp.

Post-Adric, I don't think the Ardeth pay much attention to the Edirr. Everyone is too focused on the conflict between Timmon and his mother.

I hadn't even thought about the Edirr/Brandan relationship. Will do so now.

Like your comment about Jame being "absurdly unpredictable," but is that really true? It's more that she doesn't fit anyone else's preconceptions, except those people like Marc who really know her.

Re: "absurdly unpredictable"

[firbholg]

I think Tori is getting to know her, now that he isn't being poisoned against her - I loved him deputizing her to see to Harn's situation in High Bashti. But I was being flippant.

Unpredictable needn't be unreliable. The Randon seem to appreciate it. The Commandant seems to put it in terms of "exceeds expectations".

Really, it is more the problems that confront her that are absurd, And we've seen in Seeker's Mask that attempting to be conventional really doesn't go well for her.

Re: "absurdly unpredictable"

[tagmeth]

Agree with all of your points.

Re: Coman and Edirr

[beltharvian]

I've been re-reading the entire series again (which I do from time to time because it's just that good) and just (re)finished "Gates of Tagmeth." At the end in the Council chamber Caineron is proposing some significant changes, and the votes fall as:

Knorth, Ardeth, Brandan, Jaran, Danior, and Edirr

v.

Caineron, Randir, Coman

As noted in other comments, the current Coman lord, Korey, is a Caineron relative but has some respect for Tori personally, in the aftermath of the battle against the haunts in the White Hills in "Dark of the Moon." The Edirr twins are usually described as troublemakers, generally Knorth-aligned but willing to prank pretty much everyone.

If you've already got all this sorted out, sorry for the retread. Otherwise, I hope it helps.

Re: Coman and Edirr

[tagmeth]

Thanks! Ardeth alignments seem in flux again with Timmon favoring Jame and his mother Rawneth. I finally remembered about the Coman and Edirr, but they currently have problems of their own.