Unresolved questions after Navigator’s Children
I finished Last King of Osten Ard recently. I loved it and found it even more satisfying than MST, even if the simplicity of the original resonates a bit more on an emotional level.
A few unresolved questions:
1. How many Sithi and Norns are even left?
In Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, the Sithi regularly mention having a very small population. But by the end of TGAT and The Heart of What Was Lost, you get the impression that the Norns are near a total wipe-out.
By LKoOA, you see Norns with a massive advantage over the Sithi because of breeding with humans. Sithi are already losing a war of attrition against the Sithi before Last King starts (as evidenced by the reports Simon and Miri hear when going to say goodbye to Isgrimnur and the attacks by humans that cause the Sithi to withdraw from Simon and Miri.
So the Sithi seem to also be similarly ground down by the end of Navigator’s Children as the Norns were 30 years earlier. It seems the numbers at the time of the truce following Utuk’ku’s death favor the Norns.
So what do we think remains of their total populations? In the mid-thousands for the Sithi and 10-20,000 for the Norns, including part humans?
2. What happened to Jeremias and to Pryrates mother?
I know Pryrates mother is hurt and then the castle destroyed, but it seemed like she was bound to come back. I was surprised it wasn’t resolved at the end.
Jeremias is revealed to be a sort of half-traitor, resentful of Simon but not evil or involved in Pasavalles’ plans. But we don’t know what happens to him, so far as I can tell.
3. Are there any “good magic” human users left?
We see Morgenes and Dinivan use magic, though it is nowhere near as powerful as what Pryrates or the Keida’ya are capable of. With the original scrollbearers all dead, is that skill lost?
4. Were the kilpa descended from the Vao who lived in Kementari?
We know the Vao are capable of adapting to their surroundings and becoming, essentially, entirely different creatures. We see that the kilpa are mostly just in southern waters, at least until Geloe’s call.
At the same time, Kementari was a Keida’ya city turned over to the rule of the Vao. And, sadly, it was the only one where they successfully came to rule rather than being forced back under the Keida’ya.
Do we know if the kilpa existed prior to the natural disaster that destroyed Kementari?
5. Why do the Hikeda’ya and Zida’ya speak different languages?
The two Keida’ya tribes lived together for thousands of years, shared one culture, and both had rulers who were alive at the time of their arrival in Osten Ard (at least while Amerasu was alive). Their political cultures are even traced back to a married couple who Utuk’ku and Jenjiyana actually knew personally.
We know their languages are similar, but why do they speak different languages at all? Their extremely long life spans suggest that wouldn’t happen.
6. So what was the Keida’ya’s weakness to iron?
The Keida’ya are at a significant disadvantage compared to humans because of low birth rates and the social disasters (the Parting) and natural disasters (destruction of Tumet’ai and Kementari) that befall them.
But even then their great physical strength and speed combined with powers from their “songs” would have allowed them to easily prevent the fall of Asu’a. We’re told in The Dragonbone Chair that it’s only the Rimmersmen’s use of iron that allows them to defeat the Keida’ya, who appear allergic or intolerant to it.
Yet by the time of the main story, the Keida’ya no longer have an intolerance. Simon asks about this when he is taken to Jiriki near the end of the Dragonbone Chair. They basically give a non-answer. And then later in the books the Sithi just say they feared iron.
So what was the cause of their susceptibility to iron, and how did the get around it?
7. What is the Keida’ya’s natural lifespan?
I realize we’re never told this explicitly, but I’m curious if folks were able to determine it from other textual clues. How long do Keida’ya normally live? We see Amerasu was old but still vital at 5,000, and Utuk’ku was 10,000. Of course, both survived so long because of the witchwood flower.
How long would a Keida’ya who does NOT get witchwood flower live? And how long would one who has witchwood flower every Great Year be expected to live?