Hi all, it’s Mod R here. How’s my favourite Horde keeping up?
House Andrews are on a working vacation for the next two weeks. In order to sweeten the pill of mod posts, today I’m going to share most of the insider info I know about the books. Yes, I said most, a lady must keep some secrets (and so should I).
You guys are so smooth! There are always sneaky questions in the comments ready to trap an unsuspecting Mod, but I hate to tell you, I simply don’t know as many spoilers as you give me credit. Your best bet is still asking Gordon during Q&As hehe.
To lay a cunning rereading trap for the BDH, I can tell you that at least 3 of the Big Questions can be figured out from the books and free fiction made available so far: what Elara from Iron and Magic is, the chicken joke in Magic Triumphs and what’s going on with Derek in Blood Heir. That’s right, the answers are already there if you pick up the hints laid down! Mwa. Ha. Ha.
Now that I’ve put that cat amongst the Stymphalian pigeons…
In no particular order and mostly about the Kate Daniels World:
- Kate and Hugh are not brother and sister, half or otherwise.
- Roland and Erra were both buried in caves, asleep, before magic came back.
- In rare cases, some shifters were probably always able to change shape. There was a trickle of magic present in the world even in the eras where tech was dominant and it would have been enough for a select (very) few. But the vast majority of people woke up on the morning of the First Shift and found they were able to transform. And sadly a lot of them went loup right away.
- Because the manuscript of Magic Bites was 124k words and publishers wouldn’t accept it unless it was cut to 95k, we’re missing out on a Pack Thanksgiving scene ::sob::. It was a holiday different from US and Canadian Thanksgiving. (The cut bit also better explains why Kate is blamed for the Crest suspicion when it turns out wrong. The collector edition of Magic Bites has a little bit more on that, but House Andrews can’t substantially rewrite it. They asked.)
- Derek has always been an exception throughout the KD series and if you go through the books, especially Magic Stars, you will see notes that he is unlike other shapeshifters. When Kate deeply cares about someone they miraculously keep living, she doesn’t have to actively do anything. Several people who should have died survive because of her, and we’ve been drawing the conclusion that’s what happened with Derek and his Midnight Games wounds, but it isn’t the whole picture. Derek lived because of his unique magic. (Mic: dropped, timbers: shivered)
- Ok, ok. I’m not just going to leave you like that. Here’s the Elara clue: you can find out what type of creature Elara is, but not her specific identity. It’s in the book where we find out about Christopher’s dual nature. There is a part where Teddy Jo straight up says what Elara is, but he isn’t talking about her, just in general. Elara does not assume animal form. The rest is up to you.
- Etymology: Roman is a Volhv, Russian plural pronounced “vol-h-vi”. It comes from an Old Slavonic word that means chant or mutter, because volhvi muttered spells under their breath. Volhv is also the root of Volshebstvo (magic) volshebnik (wizard) etc. Roman is also the connecting point of a lot of different sub plots in the KDverse, there’s more to our boy than Eeyeore pyjamas!
Bonus from Hidden Legacy:
- Michael (of the Record Keeper office) is neither prisoner, nor slave. His bond to the Keeper is one of both affection and appreciation. He is the Keeper’s apprentice and heir apparent. The Keeper is the very soul of courtesy, the velvet glove that holds the hammer.
- Arabella and other Metamorphosis mages do not transform into animals, they are not shifters. They transform into magical humanoid beasts.
Sweep of the Heart tease: there’s a foreshadowing in the two most recent chapters (Chapter 16 and Chapter 17) that no one has picked up on in comments or theories, and it’s to do with the female werewolf. It’s right there in front of our noses, but I didn’t see it either until Ilona told me. You can try and guess hehe.
Btw the female werewolf is the same one as before with the Sphinx- when Sean said he didn’t know her he meant from before she decided to attach herself to them and be a pain.
I also have an update for you regarding the Sweep of the Blade release from Graphic Audio- the new release date has been moved to the 16th of June instead of the 14th, due to some minor edit delays. I’ve listened to a few soundbites of the performance (because Mod Privilege) and I can tell you it absolutely matches the Fan Favourite status of the book. From Ilona: “Arland is clearly sex on a stick“.
That’s it, I’ve spoiled enough! I will now be cryptic for the rest of the day.
No way are Mod R posts a pill we have to swallow. They are great!
Awww ????
Nor are they flavoraide that must be choked down. This is fine wine and cheese!
1st?
I want to work with the BDH on this to reach a compromise, because there are complaints every week.
So I think the best way for now is to limit the “First” comments to the Innkeeper serial 🙂 .
That way there’s the competition for everyone, but all who don’t want to see it get a break as well.
Thanks for your understanding 🙂
As someone much more on the side of ‘don’t want to see it’, this seems like a great compromise.
+1
+1
I’ve never understood the fortitude some must have to scroll past the writing to be the first in the comments. I never could. Must read all the words first. Usually twice.
+many, I want the words!
+1
+1
Sounds good, thanks!
That’s fair! Another compromise might be deleting all ‘first’ comments past the, well, first. It’s only a problem when we have to scroll past a bunch of them to find the actual conversation.
Oh this is fun. Off to read for the day.
Gosh, so sad, I must re-read chapters 16 and 17 again very carefully to pick up the clues HA laid down.
Pretty sure I knew the Elara thing but will have to wait until a future book for confirmation. 🙂
The struggle is real! 😀
Ok, I think ModR’s clues were enough for me to figure out what Elara is if not who, but now I really want to know who. Sing it with me! “Who are you? Who? Who? WHo who?
Lol +1
She is an avatar of some Lovecraftian entity. “The cold that lives between the stars”. But I have not read enough Lovecraft to recognize that…
You know how to tease the BDH in the most delightful ways – off to read to see if my ideas find proof! *big grin*
Thought I knew all three answers, after the hints, not sure
I will just have to wait until someone figures it out and spells it out in plain language
+1
WOWZERS! A whole heck of a lot to ponder. Huzzah! Thanks, Mod R!
Love your posts, Mod R!!! Ohh…foreshadowing in Innkeeper…that female werewolf has been along the path of Wilmos the entire time and at every ad-hal encounter? – Shows up to tell Sean and Dina about Wilmos missing, shows up at the gate where the ad-hal took Wilmos, interferes with the ad-hal… Did she sell out Wilmos to get the corruptions to eliminate earth’s inns so she can “free” Sean of his earth’s obligations or something more than that? OMG! I am not good at figuring out mysteries, so i can’t wait to see what is revealed. ????
Maybe, I can’t say yes or no to that theory, but it doesn’t touch on the thing we all missed about her 😉
I’m wondering if she is Wilmos’s daughter……
+1
That’s what I was wondering too.
I second that wondering. Her interest in Sean didn’t strike me as ‘you can do better than an Innkeeper–date me.’ It was more like ‘after all Wilmos did for you, how dare you sit in an Inn!”
I suspect she followed the scent off Wilmos’ hair and lost her temper? Or we’re all wrong and she did it to cover up her part in the whole kidnapping.
I think you all are right. This might Wilmo’s daughter or relation.
Alpha strain. *nods*
Yep, Alpha strain. Thought that after the battle with the corruption…
+1
I am wondering if Seans sibling?
How about Wilmos’s mate…
Eh. The Innkeeper universe isn’t really a “werewolf mate” kind of place.
For which I am grateful.
+1
+1
Dang! I feel kinda dumb because I am drawing a complete blank for all three – and the Innkeeper is my favorite – the one I’ve reread the most, I feel like I should know these things or at least make plausible deductions.
I hope the renovations go smoothly for House Andrews. I hope the next two weeks are a soothing balm and they get in plenty of self-care. Dina is my favorite character but I am happy to reread things in hoping of rustling up some theories 🙂
I also feel dumb. I’ve reread both chapters and I’m still drawing a blank on the werewolf. I got nothin’. I am going to read all the comments to see if someone will hand it to me and then I’m going to reread SotH from the beginning.
Mod R Please fix my post.
Done! ????
And awww, don’t feel dumb, that was not the intent! I completely missed it too and got to see it in draft form as well!
You’re too late! I was already re-reading anyway! Hahaha!
Great minds 😀
I feel like I’m a weird one, I won’t hypothesize about who, what, when, where, why and how. I want to just read what comes from the delightful minds of Ilona and Gordon. I’m never disappointed and I trust their writing implicitly.
I’m the same! But I will be scouring the comments just in case, but I won’t spoil (heh) a reread by trying to do anything other than just enjoy the ride… again.
Me too. I am not even going to try to guess. I will just check everyone else’s guesses
I was just going to say I feel like a bad fan because I just get lost in the worlds and go with it. I guess I’m so busy watching in my head I don’t see mysteries!
Absolutely nothing “bad fan” about that!
I’m like that with SotH and I even asked to not know anything ahead. I just want to enjoy everything as it comes, I overthink enough on everything else!
+1
+1
EXACTLY!
but I do like when clues, explanations etc are played out in the comments..
The delayed AAaaaHhhhh! So that’s it/that’s why!
+1
+ 1
Me too
Aww, thanks for the tease. No need for sweeteners when you post! Have a grand rest of your day!
Ooh fun!! Thanks for the insider information.
I wish we could read that holiday scene because the thing with Crest always confused me!
+1 – I wonder if HA could get permission to hand it to us as a juicy snippet/cut-scene?
It was literally 1 million words ago! I don’t even know if they have it anymore, it’s been more than 14 years and who knows how many computers/hard drives.
I mean, yeah, fine, bring logic and reason into it. [stomps off in a {totally kidding} huff]
“…The cut bit also better explains why Kate is blamed for the Crest suspicion when it turns out wrong.”
I remember feeling an ouch when reading that part in the novel. Can someone enlighten me about what’s the more detailed explanation is? Thank you!
Me, too! I thought it was pretty harsh the way Curran came down on Kate. I’m glad there was sort of an explanation somewhere. It may be lost in time, but I’m feeling more charitable toward Curran now.
Same here.
I re-read Magic Bites two days ago, and I remember being a bit irritated that Curran and the other Alphas pushed Kate into thinking of Crest as the Big Bad despite her reservations, only to later turn around and act like she’d been the one who made the biggest mistake.
Good to know there was something more to it.
@Mary Beth, I felt exactly the same! I actually disliked them when this happened. They were the ones with the suspicions. Then when he was proven innocent, they all turned against her as in blaming her.
I’m re-reading the series. In Magic Bites *updated* E-book, I read the part where Kate murmured, “What if it’s Max?” Curran then asked Jim, “Could it be Maximillian Crest?” … I was like huh? …
So, I went to grab my *paperback* copy with printing date April 2007. (Yes, this is my old original paperback copy before e-books were a thing, for me.) Curran said, “It has to be Crest.” … This is the version that’s kept in my mind forever. I did NOT even catch the change made on the updated E-book’s version! This is how they were able to close the confusions we had about why they were blaming Kate.
+1 But less charitable toward the publisher. That bit always sticks in my teeth. Multiple people reading the book on my recommendation have asked me about it. I’ve just said that it was their first book, and first books are rarely as polished as later efforts. Now I have more to add.
Thank you for the hints! It’s always fun to see what’s been foreshadowed. 🙂
Interesting about Elara. Had no idea we could figure out the chicken.
I’d picked up some of what Derek was about, knew it was him and not Kate. He’s still an idiot when it comes to Julie though…
Forests and Trees. Werewolves and Innkeepers. Innkeepers and Ad-hals… This just gets better and better.
Mod R, thanks for holding down the fort and sharing these tidbits. I find I am usually so absorbed in a story that I often miss the clues and foreshadowing. Thanks for giving me more to think about. I will enjoy the reveals all the more.
Any clues about Dina’s parents?
Only that I think we’re getting closer 😉
Pythia hath spoken!
That was glorious fun. Can’t wait for the reveals!
Interesting post, thanks!
I always assumed Michael was the Record Keeper’s apprentice. I haven’t re-read the KD series in a long long time, so I guess I’ll have to start. Or at least Magic Stars which I frankly don’t remember much about, heh. Always seemed like Derek was special, but never really thought that much about it. My bad
Definitely never thought Kate and Hugh were related by more than their dysfunctional relationships with Roland. I seem to recall a couple of times that Hugh was spoken of as being more or less the brother she didn’t have. I did wonder if they were related in a millenia distant fashion. Something said about Roland not believing that magic/genes? will hold true? After all, Hugh can make blood needles, or something to that effect, despite being torn off Roland’s control. Shows he’s related to Roland in some fashion? Yep gotta re-read.
Always figured Elara was some sort of god or demigod combo along the lines of Christopher or Teddy Jo. Just scarier and harder to control. As to which pantheon, no idea. So many out there down the ages and we never much touch on anything that’s not Greek, Norse, or Egyptian even in our college classes.
ok, I’ll find the time today to re-read Ch 16 and 17 at the least. Grrrr The only thing I picked up was Sean said he didn’t know her, so that seemed to mean to me it wasn’t the same female werewolf that had been picking on them previously, but why bring yet another werewolf into the mix. I suppose it could mean he didn’t have any idea of who the hell she is, despite having had several confrontations. Sigh, have to wait for the next installment which will undoubtedly pose more questions than it answers. I’m so enjoying this new Innkeeper!
She is the same female werewolf who came to notify them about Wilmos and had the close encounter with the Sphinx!
Dina meant whether he knew her from before she decided to be a pain in their backsides and attached herself to them- like from his time with Wilmos and adventuring around the Universe.
I always thought Kate and Hugh considered themselves siblings in the sense that they both had Roland’s blood… Kate by birth and Hugh when he became the Preceptor (?) (crap, blanking on the title) … leader of Roland’s army/Iron Dogs. He can still use Roland’s blood in one of the scenes when Roland had discarded him.
And I think also in the sense that Kate understood at a level maybe no one else could how much that blood relationship with Roland could overpower a person–that kind of magic and Roland’s charisma has even tempted Kate a time or two–Hugh wouldn’t have stood a chance against that as a child.
Exactly. And now that Julie has Kate/Roland’s blood, she is a relative as well. Erra knew that all along.
I know the truth about Hugh because it came up during one of the live Q&A’s (the one where they split it into two Q&A sessions). Someone asked the question and they answered and I almost missed it. As it was, I have no idea how the questioner came to the conclusion they did enough to ask the question.
I gotta say, I’m really proud of the BDH who was on that Q&A and haven’t spilled the beans yet. I keep waiting for it to come up somewhere.
Please BDH, continue to keep the secret secret and protect your friends! ????
Hugh had healer magic as a child. (Can’t remember the book.) Roland recognized it and knew that magic would be useful.
Dear lord I am very sad I missed that
Fun! I think that I have untangled one clue.
Mod R: ‘Here’s the Elara clue: you can find out what type of creature Elara is, but not her specific identity. It’s in the book where we find out about Christopher’s dual nature. There is a part where Teddy Jo straight up says what Elara is, but he isn’t talking about her, just in general. Elara does not assume animal form. The rest is up to you.’
OK, so in Magic Binds, Teddy Jo trying to work out what Christopher is says: ‘It’s not apotheosis. Apotheosis implies reaching the state of rapture and divinity through faith…..[Kate then adds] No. That would imply the deliberate voluntary descent of a deity to be reborn in a human body, and from what I understand there was nothing voluntary about [the process imposed on Christopher].’
Ronald left quickly when he came face to face with Elara’s manifestation. I think her manifestation was of a god of chaos and as Roland likes order, doesn’t like to deal with it.
I second that guess +1
I wonder if the female werewolf is related to Wilmos. Maybe a granddaughter or great niece that often did not feel like she measured up to the alpha strain awesomeness that Wilmos created. Now that Sean is around and perfect example she wants to know if she can measure up. She also knows that she needs help to find Wilmos but wants to prove that she is a better wolf than Sean. Just thoughts.
Yep, all of that is possible and heavily speculated on, but not the thing we’re missing out on 🙂
I’m going to reread, but already know I won’t figure it out. Very tantalizing info. This really is a fun Innkeeper. Thanks for the post.
I’m quietly speculating that Karat is acquainted and/or has worked with the female werewolf before. She seems to have fought w her before and seemed to have great interest in her recovery?
Added to that. I’m curious about the knives age uses. Which might be vampire blood weapons.
*knives she. Darned autocorrect.
Mod R – you’re brilliant!
And incredibly frustrating… I’ve got end of year exams to mark and yet now I want to re-read…. they won’t really want their marks back tomorrow will they? Next week will be soon enough… won’t it?
((Seriously though, thank you for all you do for the Horde, and for House Andrews!))
Spoilers 🙂
Schokolade for Mod R – or is it gummibears?
Thank you and I’m off to my books searching for answers
Anke
😀 Omg you said that and immediately I thought of Yogurette! Do they still make them? They were like chocolate “logs” filled with strawberry yogurt!
Oh yes, they still make them. Strawberry is regular, and this year they made buttermilk Lemon as a special edition. So great!
Need! Thanks for letting me know 😀
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B093C53D76/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=1YM11FEDOB05L&keywords=yogurette&qid=1655143167&sprefix=yogur%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-8
😉
Thank you! Ordered already ????, I don’t play around when it’s about chocolate hehe.
I think it’s best out of the fridge. At least if it is warm outside.
Yes! I remember it snaps so satisfyingly when it’s cold.
Love this post!
Thank you! This is so fun.
Great post, thank you! Especially interested in Elara’s background! I missed that clue. Time for a re-read. 🙂
I will have to scour the books once again. And Chapters 16 and 17.
I have also wondered about Derek. It must also have been the reason why they put in more than one shard of yellow diamond into him. One simply wasn’t enough to contain his beast.
Oooo. I hadn’t thought of that, just because of how Kate and folks interpreted it instead. What if instead of trying to declare something, they were honestly trying to get him down and it took way more than they had tried. Also thinking about how he is silver in Blood heir.
Speculations further, we know that Julie awakened her dormant magic, and that our favorite Volhv is being requested to get a particular ‘boy’ for the god who is seeking the shepherd of wolves…. Roman could have been holding off because that’s generally how he bargains for the lives of others. But GAH. Oh I’m so excited.
Yellow Diamond? Don’t remember that?
The Wolf Diamond which was the prize of the Midnight Games in Magic Strikes ????.
Shards of it were used to wound Derek and gave him his scars.
I get the feeling the werewolf woman is related to wilmos somehow, maybe a daughter.
Hi Mod R, now that I know there’s something to look for, I have a question about the werewolf woman. Usually with werewolves in combat scenes, we always have description on how they change form for the fight… But not for the mysterious werewolf woman ? Re-reading chapter 16 & 17, it looks like she always stays in human form. And not linked to Baha char since we had the fight scene in wilmos workshop before… So, is she not changing form? And if so, why ? Anyone else wondering about that ?
🙂
Ooooh?
Huh!?! Wow! I think this is it. Why isn’t she changing?
And what does that possibly have to do with Dina’s parents? Or Klaus? IS THIS A TEST? Like I wonder if Dina’s mother sent her to see what he’s made of… or something. OR maybe she’s involved with Klaus? Since he seems to be on the track of their parents?
!!!! Oh gah! That’s a big big big interesting problem!
I was wondering about that too. Since in other scenes with the werewolves fighting they change and charge into battle in there wet shape but she just has her armor. It makes me wonder if maybe she doesn’t have a werewolf shape to turn into? Were all the citizens of the planet modifed or did some get out before? I was thinking about if she could be an alpha werewolf but then I think she’d be shifting more not less.
Oooh!!!!
I wonder if the reason she’s so obsessed with Wilmos is the fact that he’s one of the scientists that modified the nanotechnology (possibly the only surviving one). If her Nanos are acting up, maybe she’s hoping for a fix.
I’m wondering if she’s Sun Horde. She seemed to know nothing about the werewolves courting Sean in the first couple chapters. She wouldn’t change shape since that would give her away.
That is what occurred to me after the awesome deduction by Sophie. I know the Sun Horde is their enemy but would they smell different from the wolves? If you can only tell them apart in their different forms then she could be checking to see the competition so to speak. Both the Sun Horde and the wolves would move similarly. Could she be an alpha strain sun horde cat? Interesting to consider.
The Sun Horde are cats, right? Sean said he smelled wolf when he came back home with the logs. Going by the comments here, maybe there was another group that was created. Human shape only but with the werewolf strength? Or one of her parents is human and she got their genetic with the inability to shift?
Brilliant and Machiavillian as now I have to reread KD and Innkeeper, yet again. Well it’ll keep my “avoiding tasks i don’t want to do” time occupied until Ruby Fever is released. This mission if you choose to accept it….
TBC referencing the TV show (one of my Mom’s faves) and not the other.
Thanks Mod R! Got stuck with COVID so now I have an excuse for not doing anything but rereading everything 🙂
As for the female werewolf, the only connection I see between the two chapters is her hardsuit. But I don’t know why that would be so important. I’m also on the train that she’s related to Wilmos because Gorvar doesn’t seem to be threatened by her.
One question that I have had about Arabella and metamorphosis mages is, do they benefit from amplification circles?
They can use them like other mages, but Arabella definitely doesn’t need them 🙂
Kind of scary to think of something that she would need a circle for…like godzilla scary.
On the re-read of chapters 16-17 just now, I am still not sure I pick up anything new. Or maybe I did but I am not putting pieces together. The red knives, the hard suit, the fact that she is too fast to follow. And she is pretty hard to kill. Maybe she is also Alpha strain or Alpha strain offspring like Sean.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
That my immediate thought.
I was wondering if it had anything to do with the fact that 1) Karat insisted on carrying her back, and 2) Karat took off her body armor in the infirmary. Sure, taking off the armor was a show of trust to Dina, but the werewolf woman was also there. Does that mean Karat considers the werewolf woman someone close? Also, Karat didn’t seem miss a beat when the werewolf woman suddenly jumped on the Ad Hal, literally falling out of the sky. They seemed to fight well together…. Do Karat and the werewolf know each other?
But that doesn’t really seem like foreshadowing; those are hints about the past. If this is foreshadowing, we see the corruption of the Ad Hal mentioned, along with Dina’s having brought the corruption into the inn. So, the other possibility is that the werewolf woman became corrupted during the fight, and Dina is shortly going to have a problem.
1/2 were, 1/2 vamp, maybe.
Possible spoiler re the female werewolf:
Could it be Maud in some sort of disguise? (Crazy long shot idea.) the way she fights and Karat’s insistence on bringing her back, and how comfortable she is taking off her armor with the werewolf in the room.
I thought it interesting that Karat’s med-bed diagnosed the beginning of sepsis, whereas the werewolf woman had none, despite the corrupted ad-Hal clawing into her chest (at least).
Oooooh, I wonder if Elara is a demi-god??? Or an avatar??? (I have a feeling the “doesn’t change into an animal” holds a clue but I don’t know enough about demi-gods or avatars, haha.)
Deophage like Christopher?
I looked up ‘stymphalian’ and I get Hercules killing the killer birds with metal feathers and caustic poop but I need extra explanations because Monday! Or maybe just weak brain. Please help me. Also, toxic poop my kids found that extra funny and so do I.
Stymphalian birds show up in Kate Daniels, in Magic…Burns I think.
And there’s also an English idiom about putting the cat amongst the pigeons. I merged the two into one reference because that’s the kind of chaos my mind produces, and it should be a badge of sanity if you don’t follow along heh.
That cat isn’t going to live long if any of those feathers start flying…
Derek made Julie’s rose out of one of the metal feathers. I know they both have knives made out of them. 🙂
They sat in Unicorn Lane to find them, if I remember correctly.
Derek made Julie’s rose out of a metal coffee can and some nails, but you’re right on the other stuff 🙂
I think he made the Rose out of a can. They were sitting at a table and he casually stripped the can apart to make the rose
That’s it 🙂 !
To get her mind off Red, the stinker rat who was ready to trade Julie for powers for himself.
My bet is that the female werewolf is Wilmos’s daughter or another type of family member.
Welp. Listening to the entire Kate daniels series is next up for summer gardening entertainment. Right now I’m in the middle of Mccaffrey’s Freedom series. I love to listen and prune and weed. It’s like being transported and makes the chores go faster.
Thank you for holding down the fort. I have a questions about Emerald Blaze. Cataline is worried that bad gramma was going to fry Alessandro with her power, but wouldn’t his antistasi powers protect him from her mind melting?
All powers have limits and La Tremaine is very dangerous. They are both Primes but she has several decades of practice on Alessandro. She can also harm people in other ways than directly, because she knows so many secrets and wields their influence.
Also, Catalina worries because that’s what Catalina does with her loved ones. You can see her anxiety manifest, and if you have experience with it, which I don’t wish on anyone, you know that intrusive thoughts are never far away.
Thank you <3
Yes, that’s pretty much what I always wondered, too.
Loved this post! So much to ponder on! I always wondered why Kate got the blame in Magic Bites when the Pack was wrong about Crest. They are the ones that insisted on barging into his apartment and when they are wrong, she’s shamed about it. It never made sense to me. Hopefully some day we can get a peek at some of those book cuts! Now on to some re-reading!
love Mod R posts! Makes me wonder if the female werewold if the assassin for the Sovereign. Or if she’s a liasion/spy sent from the corrupt ad hal.
That’s an interesting thought! She did manage to get into the inn (albeit via injury), I wonder if that was the goal all along. Or maybe she has some of the contamination on her from the fight. She hasn’t shifted forms at all, even during the fight, so there’s some question there.
I also wonder if she isn’t really interested in Sean but that’s just what Dina and Sean assumed since there have been so many others? That’s similar to the Edge series where Rose incorrectly thought the ML (I’m blanking on his name) was there because of her abilities.
This is wickedly fun! Thanks! Will be doing some rereading. Anticipating some mind blown moments.
So it has always driven me crazy the way Kate is blamed for the Crest suspicion when it turns out wrong – so somewhere in that edited (boo publishers) 36k of writing is the explanation for how it went from Curran’s idea and the Pack agreeing to ALL KATE’s FAULT?!?!
Please share…pretty pretty please!!
As I said above, I don’t think the edited out content is still around 🙁 . It’s been so long!
Also, re: etymology, the old norse word Völva means female seeress or witch, along with seidhkona (or spaekona), according to sources like the Erik the Red Saga. So it could have some connection with Slavic origins as well.
The Norse and old pagan Slavic pantheons are very close, indeed 🙂
Not all that surprising when you think about PIE. What do a Hindu and Greek God have in common? Quite a lot actually.
I remember when the post about little Elara came out. This was the time COVID-19 started hitting the U.S., and Ilona said that she and Gordon were on pause with book 2 of the Iron Covenant series because it was so dark. She also said we didn’t need more dark during a dark time. Hopefully in the future when it’s not so dark, they can pick up the writing for the book. 🙂
I don’t want to give anything way, but if I remember correctly, the bit about Hugh saying to Elara eating the whole chicken while sitting in Kate’s driveway came from Iron and Magic. If you look at Kate’s books in order, Iron and Magic really comes before Magic Triumphs. If you don’t believe me, think of Neg’s troops coming to Kentucky before going to Atlanta.
As to Derek, Namtur also says something interesting about Derek when he freezes everyone in front of Julie’s house, and Derek breaks his hold. Also, I still wonder how Derek got into Julie’s secret part of the house? Did he pull a Connor and snuck in right before Julie put up the shields?
Thanks Mod R for all the inside scoop, as much as possible. 😀
I’ve been thinking about how Derek got in. I think he came through the balcony on the top. Then he could unlock the house from the inside. That or he has a key/career friend in lockpicking. He can sense magic so like… motivated enough, I it makes sense why he would be able to get in. Like Aurelia hurting when she thought something stole his body. Okay also just notice she always refers to him as Derek in her mind the entire time. Don’t mind me soaking in the angst.
Derek was trained in Pack Security. I suspect he has a really easy time with picking locks.
We know he realised from the start who Julie is. He was…especially motivated 😉
????????
But was he motivated enough to do it with out lasting damage to her house? 😀
That. That is very true!
Also, I knew Kate and Hugh were not brother and sister. Why would Hugh say all those things to Kate and trying to take Kate away from Curran when they were in Eastern Europe to get the panacea, if they were actually biological siblings?
Hugh also says this in Magic Triumphs when Dali came barging in on Kate, Curran, Elara, and Hugh “You barged into the house of the closest person I have to a sister and you interrupted my breakfast.” – Magic Triumphs Chapter 15 p. 236 (Nook book page number)
Iron and Magic is absolutely before Magic Triumphs in timeline, and the same will be the case for Iron Covenant 2!
Good to know! Thanks Mod R.
I thought the chicken comment came from one of Kate’s books. Hugh and Elara were sitting in the driveway, in the middle of having a married moment.
It is, from Chapter 15 of Magic Triumphs 🙂
I think Patricia is saying it’s linked to stuff from Iron and Magic.
Maybe it is, and yet maybe it isn’t… 😉
Thank you so much Mod R!!! I now need to re-read Chapters 16 & 17! I think I also need to re-read Magic Stars. I am Team Derek all the way.
Elara’s nature is something I’m pretty sure about but I am also excited for any future book for confirmation. I still don’t understand eating the whole chicken thing… The truth about Kate and Hugh’s relationship Gordon “spoiled,” in a prior Q&A, and I feel privileged to have that secret info, but nice hint!
This certainly has been a treat. Thank you again for the post!
Thank you Mod R for the exciting spread of spoilers to dig into! <3 and Hopefully the working vacation goes as smoothly and kindly as it can.
Always a pleasure to get a ModR post. Thank you for keeping the BDH simmering along. (Though in this heat – 102 F yesterday in Houston – what else would we be doing? Hope this is not something you are facing.)
Reading the speculations is a hoot. I sometimes figure things out, but, more often, HA is sneakier than many authors and doesn’t go for the obvious conclusion. I am such a sucker for that!
Thank you for the clues. I will reread and think on them…
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we are with you about the heat and humidity. I said to one of my co-workers, “is the DFW area now considered north Houston?” She laughed.
Stay cool!
I live in Plano. Our AC went out three nights ago. I’m dying. The electrician thinks they found the needed part and will be here tomorrow. I work from home. If only I could work from the shower or the pool, but the laptop would fall in and there would follow many tears. And screaming.
I have given up on trying to predict HA storyline. And this is coming from a conspiracy theorist.
Ah, yes, Michael and Roman!! Two very interesting men with interesting abilities!
And of course, Derek the Boy Wonder, as Kate calls him on many occasions.
And current Innkeeper adventures!
And Ruby Fever publication!!
Yay!!!
I had a number of theories about the female werewolf. I thought she was related to Wilmos somehow. Then I considered that she was maybe another second generation GM Wolf like Sean since she stood toe to toe with the corrupted ad hal and survived having her sternum slashed.
Then I got stuck on the fact that the blades she attacks the corrupted ad hal with were red. Red is an unusal colour for knives. Are the blood blades? Is she mixed up with the Vampires?
Essentially, I have lots of thoughts and no clue at all what is actually going on. Just going to sit tight and wait for updates.
Groovy! Thank you!
Now I’m seeing Arabella as one of Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things. This makes me very happy.
I LOVE THIS
Well, of course Derek survived because of his own magic – though Julie finding those five chips of the Wolf Diamond undoubtedly made it a lot easier.
I do wonder what he agreed to to untie all the knots he was in as an adolescent and young man. I think Pastor Haywood was seriously involved in whatever happened.