Liner Notes for The Fruits Of Victory

 

Liner Notes for The Fruits Of Victory

I’ve somewhat written myself into a corner for this one. It’s a fight, a conversation, and a fight, the three linked by Olianos trying to figure out what all this means. Form follows function, subtext is for cowards, just have your characters state their questions and opinions. So what’s left for the liner notes?

A little! Olianos is figuring stuff out. His partnership with Nanda has reached the stage where he’s actually listening to her. She’s a person, not just an auxiliary to his gladiator, a tactical problem to be solved. On the other hand there are tactical problems to be solved. Or perhaps strategic ones.

Why did Vinculus pick Olianos? We know from Mirrors what Vinculus thought he was doing. He picked the most dependable, the one who would get his body to the construct no matter the difficulties, chosen from amongst those on the spot. Maybe no more than that. Not choosing a successor as such.

Agonistes is playing to the crowd and following his whims. He picks Olianos because he’s good, because he’s likely to be in the arena for a while yet. Something to keep his memory alive.

But we know a prophecy is playing out, Vinculus following it instinctively and Agonistes, Olianos, Nanda and more all caught up in it’s wake. On the author’s side I need Olianos for…

Well the truth is I haven’t finished the last installment writing this*. How much easier things would be if I had a grand plan. For example I could have put in the viewing place from behind the scenes, that’s not the gate, in an earlier story. This was the first place I realised it would be useful (and makes the choreography of a later one make more sense). Oh well. One day I’ll be prepared ahead of time.

* As I prepare to post this I note that I have now finished the last installment and Olianos is destined for a high position - and a great fall