Those of you who’re following along will know the drill by now, but I’ll recap for those who may be coming to things new.

This series of posts was inspired by one of Kim Falconer’s More Than Meets The Eye posts on the Supernatural Underground blog. It’s taking a closer look at how styling characters fits into developing their personalities and part in a story, but can also cast light on societal and cultural difference, thus playing a part in worldbuilding as well.

The particular series of stories I’m looking at is The Wall Of Night series – and today’s book is #3, Daughter of Blood (Daughter.)

Setting and World

In Daughter, the styling, along with the characters, returns from the Southern Realms of Haarth to the Wall of Night.

In Book 1 (The Heir of Night, hereafter Heir), the story was squarely centred on one of nine Derai Houses, the warrior House of Night. In The Gathering of the Lost (Gathering), the narrative briefly introduced characters from the priestly Houses of Adamant and Morning. In Daughter, readers can expect to encounter characters from the warrior Houses of Blood and Swords, the Houses of Sea and Stars, as well as representatives of Night, Adamant, and Morning again.

Plenty of scope for styling character, in other words – but as always, only to the degree it serves or enhances the story. (For a refresh on “m’ terribly important thoughts” on When To Style, check out post #1.)

Given the Derai are one people, albeit divided into nine Houses, styling offers the opportunity to illuminate both differences and similarities between the nine (worldbuilding), as well as the protagonists (character development) — a return to Kim’s point that styling characters is an important element in any writer’s toolkit.

Styling Characters In Daughter of Blood

Just a headsup before I leap in — this will only be a selection of characters from the book. If I were to include even all the important ones, the book #4 manuscript might never be completed. 😀

I’m going to kickoff with two of the story’s most important characters. Kalan (who you’ll recall from the Heir post is #2 in the Wall series), because Daughter of Blood is primarily his book, and Myr, the Daughter of (the House of) Blood for whom it is named.

Kalan

Kalan’s return to the Wall of Night is (of course!) a perfect styling opportunity, because he must alter his Southern Realms guise to blend back into Derai society. In his opening scene this is:

“…a scabbard with the House of Blood’s hydra stamp and a cuirass in the distinctive deep-red steel particular to the warrior House…[so]…few would question that he was anything but a Blood warrior returning home.”

Later in the story, his style is revisited when he receives accoutrements that deepen his Blood identity:

“When he slit the wax open, he found a crimson pennant inside. The Storm Spears’ device of crossed war spears, with a twelve-pointed star above their conjunction, was blazoned on it in gold thread.”

A large part of the book, though, is spent in the field, so Kalan’s styling must also reflect the down-to-earth:

“…the slope was steep and Kalan was sweating beneath leather, wool, and mail before he reached the ridgeline…He wrapped his face against the thorns…before snaking the last few yards to the crest.”

Myr

Myr (Myrathis) is not only a member of Blood’s ruling family, she is also the bride chosen by her family and House to make a strategic marriage with the Earl of Night. A great deal of ceremony accompanies such marriages, including a grand tournament to select her honor guard for the journey to Night, and Myr’s costume and appearance are very much part of the ritual:

Myr’s head ached from the weight of her hair, coiled and pinned tight beneath an even heavier jeweled headdress. The gauze veil, also a-glimmer with jewels, stood out stiffly to either side of her face and made it difficult to see without fully turning her head—so she kept the painted mask that was her face turned rigidly forward.

Unsurprisingly,when she sneaks around the keep at night, Myr opts for a far less noticeable:

“…plain kirtle and jacket, and soft, heel-less boots that had been her preferred garb before becoming Bride of Blood. She bundled her betraying hair into a cap as she crossed to the door…”

As with Malian in Heir, what Myr chooses to wear, as opposed to the costume she is obliged to adopt, offer insight into her character — although their characters and reasons for their preferences are very different.

The Swarm Adversaries

The three Swarm adversaries that walk up Grayharbor’s Sailcloth Street early in the story wear:

“…long black cloaks and deep hoods that did not fall back even when the newcomers sprang for shelter. They were carrying swords, too. He recognized the shape of hilt and scabbard beneath their cloaks and knew that likely meant other weapons as well.”

The observer, Faro, notices that the hood of one of the three is continually moving. Shortly afterward, when the hood is put back, he sees:

“…a powerfully built man in gold-washed black mail, with long coils of hair falling down his back. Except that the coils were not hair at all, but a sinuous twist of blue-black snakes, their forked tongues a perpetual flicker about the stranger’s head and shoulders. He … held up a hand weighted with jeweled rings, the gemstones glittering in the afterdazzle.”

As in earlier books, the jewels and gold-decorated armor imply standing. By contrast, when the Darksworn, Emuun, appears a little later in the story, he carries:

“…a crossbow across his back. He also had a hatchet thrust through his belt, a shortsword at his hip, and at least one dagger that she could see.”

As noted in the Heir post, whatever detail the narrative reveals should illuminate the character in some way that matters. In this case, the most important thing about Emuun’s styling is that he’s a walking armory, which should offer some insight into both personality and his part in the story.

Again by contrast, all that is known of the Darksworn called Nuithe’s styling is that she wears “gossamer sleeves” that “stirred in a slight breeze.” The movement suggests that the sleeves are “trailing”, a detail that adds something to what follows. Otherwise, though, Nuithe’s part in the story is established by other means than styling — for the simple reason that in her case, it would convey or imply little of importance.

The Sea Keepers

A number of Sea House mariners appear in Daughter, and when Myr first meets their envoys she is:

“…fascinated by their cabled hair, the rings in their ears, and the rich colors—sea-green and royal blue and violet—of their clothes”

As well as by the fact they laugh out loud, behaviour frowned upon in her own House of Blood. When Kalan, in his turn, meets a Sea weatherworker, he notes:

“…the same twisted cables of hair as his companion… The breeze rippled the folds of his sea-green robe, the deep border a wave design in indigo and black”

The Sea House has its warriors, too, but in a deeply militaristic society focusing on other aspects of their styling sends a covert message to readers — but the one who stands out the most, in Kalan’s eyes, is the Ship’s Luck:

“…a woman in a sleeveless, sea green tunic and leggings … her head was shaven, which made it difficult to place her age. A fine silver chain, hung with charms, shone against one ankle, and silver bracelets twisted up her arms. More silver gleamed in her ears, but like the weatherworker she kept her gaze fixed on a point somewhere past Kalan’s shoulder.”

The shaven head, as opposed to the other Sea Keepers cabled locks, as well as very different clothes and jewellery beyond her comrades’ earrings all point to a unique role, as well as a degree of mystery — but Kalan must find the answers to both elsewhere in the story.

Malian

Malian being the Wall story’s main character, it seems fitting to end with her, just as she began the series in the Heir post. As promised then, I returned to Malian in the Gathering post as well, chiefly to determine whether her initial preference for casual and comfortable clothing, that facilitates action, is sustained through the series.

In Daughter, she adopts several guises. As Crow, an itinerant sword-for-hire, her garb is a dusty “jacket and trousers” and the “cloth head-wrappings and the bone-and-feather fetishes favored by Lathayran mercenaries.”

Later, she becomes Ash, “…a mender of armor and weapons, and peddler of secondhand arms” who is “…not particularly clean…and wears a handful of weapons openly and carries more, together with an array of tools, in packs…”

When she, too, returns to the Wall in her own guise, she is one of a company who: “…all wore plain armor that could have been crafted anywhere, although the veiling coifs were Ishnapuri in style.” Her appearance is “as plain as the rest”, except that in identifying herself she also reveals an armring acquired in The Heir of Night, which is “silver fire about her wrist.”

The armring was a gift, one tied to Malian’s birthright and prophesied fate. Otherwise, it seems clear that although Malian’s styling may be partially dictated by practicality and circumstance, a consistent theme through different guises points to personal choice.

Conclusion

And there it is: from Heir to Daughter, a more indepth look at styling characters in The Wall of Night series. I hope it’s been of interest from a worldbuilding and character development perspective, as well as the art and craft of writing fiction — and very many thanks again to Kim Falconer, for the Supernatural Underground post that got me started. 😀

Previous Posts

• Styling Characters: More Than Meets The Eye — by Kim Falconer
  
• Styling Characters in The Heir of Night
• Styling Characters in The Gathering of the Lost
• Styling Characters in The Gathering of the Lost — Revisited!