Paksworld

This is a good way into the second book, but it seems appropriate somehow (don’t ask how the somehow works…only the hindbrain knows…)

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In the morning, clouds and snow had blown past, and a pale blue sky scoured by wind opened over them.  Kieri heard a noise in the stable yard below, and peered out his window to see the Pargunese king, stark naked, washing himself from a bucket of steaming water; the two Pargunese lords, just as bare, were doing the same.  Did they never stop proving how hardy they were?  When the king had finished, he gave a shout and ran bare as he was around the yard, and the other two ran after him, all laughing like boys.  Kieri eased the shutter closed, and shook his head.

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The book continues to throw surprises at me, though not fast in the last couple of days as the International Gut Bug has reached our house.   But leaving that unsavory subject aside…it dawned on me last night, working on a scene between Dorrin and some of her cohort, that this continues a conversation begun in the first Paks book, and resulting (ultimately) from a very old schism in human behavior.

What is loyalty?  Who or what can be the object of loyalty?   What are the theoretical and practical and ethical boundaries of loyalty?   Heavy stuff for New Year’s Eve…

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