Family

Julnar

A daughter of the Land of Peace, she caught Bleys' eye while he gathered his forces against Eric. Their union produced one son, Edan.

Edan shakes his head in response. "My mother... is a fire-maid. She

lives in the Western Cities, close to the ocean. Her family... my family...

had some measure of influence, enough to overcome the stigma of

being the daughter of an afrit." He shrugs his shoulders. "It is not

unheard-of in the Land of Peace. Afriti, the fire-spirits, are cruel

tricksters. One tricked her mother into thinking he was her husband.

My mother is half-afrit; all her children carry some sign of that heritage."

Bleys

Edan's father, strict teacher, and infrequent visitor while Edan was raised in the Land of Peace.

"Father kept my existence quite secret... he told me, once, that I was not ready

for the conflicts and machinations of family." Some of the light goes

out of his expression, and he adds, "Of course, that is a double-edged

sword. It would be a kindness to say that he was an infrequent visitor

to the Dar-es-Salaam. As I grew up, I hated him... he was larger than

life, would charm me as he charmed my mother... and then he would

leave. He would be gone for years, and resentment would fester. His

lifestyle, his attitudes, his politics, I disagreed with it all. And then he

would come back, and charm me anew, and brush aside my arguments

and resentment like so much smoke. And when I had decided that I

liked him again, he would leave. A vicious cycle."