Flights of Marigold
Flights of Marigold
The sun was westering over the green hills when Meg, having finally visited the shrine to Kyaju, mounted the marble steps to the villager’s great hall. Colm’s suite spanned the tip of the south wing’s second floor, at the end of an echoing corridor lined with statues of onyx and alabaster. A boy had been posted at the once-gilt door, for the soldiers were far too exhausted from their long march and weeks of summer campaign to do more than minimal duty.
“Sieur Cordal is not to be disturbed, Magiel.” The page looked at her with a mixture of defiance and fear.
It was the shimmer of her skin. A blur of time vibrations that had once been a mark of beauty and divinity, commanding reverence. But with the war, and the High King’s decree, wordlings had begun to hunt magiels, forcing them into ghettos and prisons. Magiels had to become adept at hiding their faces in hoods, or arranging meetings for the dark of night, in alleys or back rooms.
The second volume of the “Addicted to Heaven” fantasy series, Flights of Marigold picks up where Bursts of Fire ended. The adventure is told mainly through the eyes of Meg, Janat, and Rennika, the three homeless magical princesses. The war against the High King is going badly, and Meg has become dissatisfied with the progress of the rebellion. Janat is still in the grip of the addictions to the potions forced upon her by the late High King’s magiel. The youngest sister, Rennika, wants nothing to do with rebellion and war and is hiding in the relatively peaceful country of Gramarye pretending to be a normal worlding. She toils for a wool merchant while in love with his son.
Meg and Janat flee to Gramarye where the High King’s sister, Hada, has declared herself queen and is attempting to overthrow the regent and take complete control of that land with the aid of another magiel, Gweddien. He is also battling an addiction and is the one who reluctantly aided in placing Janat under the spell of the substance glim. Meg, the eldest sister, tries to control Janat who resents her doing so even while undergoing self-destructive acts. In joining their younger sister, they place her position with the wool merchant in peril.
The High King decides he must take charge of Gramarye and marches his army. His sister moves to marry the regent while Meg makes an attempt to uncover a fabled prayer stone with magical powers. This bold but reckless action of hers results in all three sisters inside the castle and the death of the regent. The High King arrives, his devious sister greets him with humble open arms, and the three magiel sisters flee the city. Rennika, after surviving an attempted rape, decides she wants the simple life, and she seduces and runs off with a tradesman from a neighbouring village. Janat is seriously ill but finally confesses her many problems and addictions to Meg. The pair are on the road once more in search of a safe haven.
Flights of Marigold, a complex tale with many twists and turns, is told mainly through the eyes and thoughts of the three sisters, but readers also see inside the minds and points of view of other characters. The problems of addiction and how addictions can occur are well-illustrated. Front matter in Flights of Marigold includes a black and white map of the kingdoms, a seven-page cast of characters, and a four-page prologue while back matter, in part, consists of a page about the author, a three-page Reader’s Group Guide, and 10 pages of information beginning with “Why Mental Health and Anti-Discrimination Resources?”
A detailed and complex fantasy tale told mainly through the eyes of three quite different sisters, Flights of Marigold offers plenty of action and twists while providing a window into the problems of addictions.
Ronald Hore, involved with writers groups for several years, dabbles in writing fantasy and science fiction in Winnipeg, Manitoba, under the pen name R. J. Hore.