Friday Fiction: Thrand Again, at Last? Really?

 Thrand (Part 18, Outline and Notes)

Well, back to Thrand after about ten months (since August 30, 2024, to be exact). No real writing, but more notes and outlines for the next part of the story. I otherwise haven’t done a whole lot of thinking about it since. Why? I really couldn’t say. Perhaps I’ll fill it out (and Part 17) soon, into a true draft. I have a vague ambition of having it complete (at least a first draft) by my birthday at the end of July.

6/20/25: Kettle’s reading is going well, better than Old Okt, who did most of his reading with his finger, but who had an uncanny ability to find the justice in any matter. His decisions were never overturned, even when challenged by petty technical pleas, pleas never found valid by other better-read justices.

Two weeks pass, with Thrand dealing with several formal applications, as well as informal ones, backstair encounters as it were, of dark horses floating test balloons. These tend to get dismissed out of hand. Improperly formulated, if not downright ridiculous.

But Thrand keeps a memorandum of every ‘candidate’, with pros and cons of each one. He runs them over aloud with Kettle to get them straight in his head and to see what Kettle has to say about them. The notes, written up, will go into the State Archives, for the record. Thrand is doing well, losing weight under Kettle’s watchful eye, but he doesn’t yet feel better, his mind halfway distracted keeping his will power up.

Thrand is getting tired of the whole affair. He wishes that Roth did want to be King: that would have been most unobjectionable. The other Morgs in consideration are not especially outstanding; there might even be one from the House of Keth. They would not make great kings, but then it is simply an executive office. Thrand is kind of hoping that his last act as ‘king-maker’ will be remembered as a fine decision; he doesn’t want to ‘go out’ on a fizzle.

Then there is Prince Trallin to be considered. As a human he is still rather problematic. But he is the son of Taryn, who was very popular. There are several ‘human’ factions among the Morgs who do support him. Thrand is rather leaning towards him, except for one enigmatic encounter that troubles him.

It takes place in the water-rooms in the palace, a random encounter. Thrand is using the facilities when suddenly Prince Varnik comes in. He seems startled to see the judge, but after some hesitation approaches him.

He tells Thrand about his doubts about Trallin and Queen Innia’s plotting. Trallin does not seem to really care much about the welfare of the kingdom, just about being king, backed up by the fact that Innia was a princess in Metarlin, and that her brother (now King there) has no heir. Their ambition is to rule both in Forlan and Metarlin, an empire. This troubles Varnik; he worries about Morg City’s welfare under such selfish motivation. He’d much rather the family fall into the background, or even simply go to Metarlin, a ‘home’ he’s only visited a couple of times in the past.