The Frewyn Herald: Home of the Haanta Series

I was writing a piece in one of the later books in which Rautu has a hallucination. Twisk and I both discussed what would be his worse nightmare. Here it is:  T here, swirling along the beams of the stone ceiling, were two large floating strawberries. They seemed in want of his attention, making silent beckoning to be touched, to be admired, to be tasted. They drifted nearer, bouncing about with weightless oscillations. This cannot be real , was the giant’s first cogitation, but the closer they came to him, the more fearful he was. Deliberately assaulting him with their delicious rinds, impressing their succulence and sweetness upon him was all his horror. He stood from the table and stepped back, evading their gyrating attacks. They sang to him, called out his name in inviting tones,  glittered and glistened under the dim light, professing themselves delicious and remarkably fresh. “Away,” the giant bellowed, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Twisk drew this af...

Nidello and Arkastino, Ladrei's brothers and guardsmen, have always been in love.  Arkastino was still sleeping when Nidello entered their apartment, and was snoring so sonorously as to make Nidello’s laughing at him muted by his strident drones, his hissing snuffles, and his whistling exhales. Nidello closed the door quietly behind him, but he had some misgiving as to whether his mate should hear him regardless of his attempts to be as silent as was possible as he approached. He undressed, tossed his clothing on a far chair, and went to the divan where Arkastino lay sprawled out, his immense legs hanging off the sides, his mouth open, his arms cuddling a large cushion. Here was a prospect of equanimity, an attestation that regardless of how prominent or how feared they became in Lucentian society, Arkastino slept in the very same manner now as he did when he was ten. Nidello could not help but admire him: one so large and foreboding so sweet of face and so soft of heart. His fond...

Ladrei is the richest and most dangerous man in Lucentia. He hangs around Frewyn for much of books 1-7. Here is how he is perceived in his homeland by one fortunate woman: A few minutes were spent in silent indignation. What right had he, a slovenly and shapeless gambler, have to govern her sense of dignity and propriety? Had she been more imprudent elsewhere, she should have been scolded for dressing and acting akin to the women of the houses, and though he, a frequenter of such unwholesome establishments, would reproach them for such conduct, he would reward them with his attendance and his gold while she must show herself and be compensated with only the ill admonitions of a wanton parent. Would that her mother had heard such an argument- but it was nonsense to consider one whom he had so little regarded in life when she was now gone. She should be ashamed of him, horrified by his cruel suggestions and aggressive behavior. If he was so desirous of having his daughter sell her...

Morning roused in Lucentia capital, and with it came the usual hum and bustle of the marketplace. The colourful stalls with their vibrant hues radiated in the rays of white morning light, casting their vivid tints along the ground and bespeaking their tinged shadows upon the adjacent tents and walls. The Lucentian peoples emerged from their homes, carting their wares to their stalls and entering their shoppes with all the high good humour that a clear and cool morning over the arid capital could warrant. Pleasantries were exchanged, hands were waved, heads were nodded in recognition and understanding as a few blithesome words were exchanged, calls were made across the passages and narrow lanes, and soon everything was in a way to have the long day at the Lucentian markets begin.  Delicate trails of smoke billowed and wafted from the chimneys of the bakery ovens, arrases and curtains waved about in the gentle and warm breeze, and once the market received its first patrons, cries fro...

Ladrei, Arkastino and Nidello Maccadrin are Lucentia's mafia heads. Here is a little bit from one of their episodes: They hurried through the quieted marketplace toward the evening bustle of the café district. The clinking of teacups, the buzz of café raillery, and the civil thanks of proprietors furnished their search for the correct address. Janir’s home was in a part of the lively district that Ladrei had not visited in some time; it was rather far from his father’s establishment: a quiet set of thin lanes screened by the shadows of the adjacent prepossessing buildings, and in one of the alleyways, tucked away in a darkened corner, was a small door to a one-room apartment, quite out of the way and undecorated for the front of a residence. For a trader and conveyer such as Janir, he could not be said to be living beyond his income; for a man supposedly living alone, however, such a home in such a veiled place seemed strange to Ladrei. The door, grey and unnoticeable, did not ev...

Arkastino and Nidello are Ladrei's most intimate friends and bodyguards.  They are briefly in book 1 but we get to learn a lot about them in subsequent books. Here is a bit from book 8. Enjoy! Arkastino and Nidello Ladrei and the symbol of Lucentia                 Ladrei emerged from his private quarters and went into the main room of the guild where he found his two intimate friends and guards sharing a bottle of licorice wine between them, discussing the various guild members with callous remarks for each of the men they believed more inadequate than themselves and with depraved commentary for each of the women they deemed worthy of what they should like to accord. Ladrei smiled at them, remarking their unique garments, inked arms, and ornamented ears and fingers with a simper and a shake of his head: they had not changed since their young years spent together in the throes of Lucentia’s lower stre...