OK, housekeeping time, once again. I guess because I am on vacation, my brain is too. A reader was kind enough to send me some things he/she caught that slipped through my usually much-better-than-this editing. So I have reposted Chapter 6 of Justice Resurrected with the adjustments. Most are just spelling mistakes, but there was an awkward sentence he/she pointed out that, while I wanted it in an unconventional form, was almost gibberish. I fixed it and the typos.
We also got to talking about various aspects of the story that he/she noted and had questions about. They were substantive enough for me to ponder them more and decide to talk about them here.
1. Jonar's unusual size. As is noted more than once by characters in Justice, Jonar is a big boy. The reader noted that he had been on an almost-starvation diet, subsisting on what he could get by living off of the land. Such a diet would stunt growth. The reader noted Jonar's gauntness was noted in the story but his height should have been effected. The answer to this is that while Humans often begin to stop growing around 17-20 years old, Gnathar do not reach adulthood until 25 and don't stop growing until around 30. This is part of the story in later chapters concerning legality of certain aspects of the story. In the time Jonar was exiled, most Gnathar put on a lot of muscle mass during those ages (13-17 yrs old) but less height (comparatively) than Humans would. Thusly, Jonar is tall, but rather skinny . . . for a Gnathar.
2. The reader also speculated on Jonar's heritage, suggesting perhaps some Jotnar blood explaining his size. This is never really touched on in the story because nobody alive who knew Jonar's family are friends of Jonar and thus in a mood to reminisce or answer probing questions about family history. Jonar has no living relatives that make appearances in this story, and his own memories are dim with time and trying to survive, and so the answer to that question is left obscured. I will say this about Jonar's size and probable lineage: the lords of Meikar note the good breeding of both warriors and Gnaths for which the Empire of the Gnath is known. The southwestern reaches are especially know for such, due to the closeness of Dei-Xhan, Zondron Gnathar, and Pagans, all of whom make regular incursions across the borders of the Empire, necessitating strong warriors for defense. Take that nugget of information and extrapolate your own answer.
3. The reader also had a question about the use of a lower case "g" in "gnath lord" rather than an upper case "G" since Gnath is captialized everywhere else. I am not sure why I chose to write it that way, but since it is done that way throughout the story and it is done that way in the appendices, I will keep it that way in regards to usages like "gnath lord" and the derogatory "gnath-rider."
4. And finally, the reader lamented the fading into the background of Princess Alyssa and her mother in chapter 6 during the court and Queen's sitting room scenes. As I explained to the reader, Princess Alyssa's role was to get the companions to see her mother, who could then immediately get them in to see the Queen in order to report the razing of Mynar. The reader also questioned the hastiness of the end of the court session and the lack of surprise or irritation by the courtiers. As the Queen explained when she ended the court day, the session was almost over anyway, so if something came up that she would wish to handle in private, it would not be unremarkable for her to use it as an excuse to call it a day.
So, that is all for this session of housekeeping in the Celtic Bard's domain. Hope it was informative.