#anafiel delaunay de montreve

[white-queen-lacus]

Yes, I had the same feeling!! After all, one of Phèdre's possible futures (I guess it was in the Thetalos) was being Delaunay and Melisande's "daughter"... There was a time, in the beginning, when I had thought it would have been great, but in the end, I loved their dynamics!

Ok, this is a pov I'd never considered, but I like it! I think that Imriel took something after both Anafiel and Rolande, in such a way... He has something of Rolande in look and it seems, in behavior (I can't remember who now, but I clearly remember that somebody once told him that he was somehow similar to Rolande), but, as you said, he also followed Anafiel's steps... And I guess, since the beginning. When Phèdre and Joscelin rescued him from Darsanga, whenever his life was put at a stake again (e.g. when Valérè sent a man to kill him in his sleep), Imriel was taught to investigate by Phèdre, counting on his logical analysis and his observation ability. Basics of Delaunay's training. And when he took the Montrève name, Thelesis reminded him that that was an important name, which he was able to honour greatly during his trilogy. As for his relationship with Sidonie, which is my favourite ever, I've always believed that they are some kind of Romeo and Juliet (with happy ending), but your pov made me really think! 👍👍👍

@a-crack-in-the-universe

[white-queen-lacus]

Re-reading “You and you alone...” right now... I’m amazed to read how insightful and rich of foreshadowing this little gem by Jacqueline Carey is.  Anafiel’s death in Kushiel’s Dart was perhaps the most emotional moment in the book. And even if he dies in the first half of the book, his presence is so strong that even in the sequels he exists. After all, everything in Kushiel’s Legacy happens because of love. Every tragedy is born from the love that Anafiel felt for Rolande, from his oath to protect and serve his beloved lord and his only remaining family (Ysandre) to the point of becoming the Whoremaster of Spies, to adopt both Alcuin and Phèdre in his household in order to protect the Dauphine and Terre d’Ange. I loved the fact that in this short novel, Anafiel’s paternal feelings for Phèdre are beautifully shown. In KD, when Phèdre and Joscelin are finally able to come back home, they found an already dead Delaunay and a dying Alcuin. I’ve always thought that Anafiel’s death was a big loss because I really thought of him as a chess master stuck in a deadly game with his enemy/once lover Melisande. Actually, I guess that the whole story was a “game” between Melisande and Ysandre (that’s why in the second saga, Imriel and Sidonie are the protagonists, being the son of the greatest traitors and the daughter of the Queen) and Anafiel, along with Phèdre (and everyone else) obviously, are the most important “pawns”. And in You and You alone, a dying Anafiel expresses his feelings and memories perfectly, about Phèdre, Alcuin, Melisande, Ysandre, Edmée, Isabel (still a b*tch in Anafiel’s words XD) but in particular for Rolande. I remember that Rolande’s character was described as fierce, mostly, but also reckless, something that led to his death during the Battle of the three Princes. I also remembered that Imriel had something of his nephew (this is so awkward but... XD) in appearance: “I identified Prince Rolande by the choice couch accorded to him and the description I'd been given. His black hair hung loose save for two slender braids at either side caught back in a silver clasp. Strong brows were arched over dark blue eyes. He had a generous mouth made for smiling, but at the moment his well-shaped lips were parted in surprise. I locked gazes with him.”(I wonder if there’s Kushieline heritage in Courcel House too since males from CH recall Shahrizais too) I loved the oath part, with led to Anafiel’s first fall in disgrace (at least to his father’s eyes, since he lost his title as the Count of Montrève), because it was totally born from love. Anafiel was barely 18 at that time, both he and Rolande (as well as the glorious Barquiel XD) were students then, but the Unseen Guild found Anafiel’s talent. Yet, Anafiel, in order to protect his beloved, renounced to everything: “"Can you doubt it?" I was desperate and crazed, the words from an ancient oath spilling from my lips, unstoppable. "I swear on the blood of Blessed Elua himself that I love you, and you alone. By the blood that Blessed Elua spilled, for so long as we both shall live, I bind myself to you, and you alone--" "Anafiel!" Rolande was kneeling before me, his hands hard on my shoulders, eyes wide. "Don't!" I felt the golden glow of Elua's blessing wash over us both, accepting my oath, banishing my guilt. I smiled wearily at Rolande. "Too late, your highness." He sighed, leaning his brow against mine. "I have a duty to Terre d'Ange. You know I cannot swear the same." "I know." YOU, AND YOU alone, Rolande. It is why I took no wife, fathered no children. It is why my own father disavowed me, for throwing away my heritage on a romantic whim.” That was the moment Anafiel de Montrève became Anafiel Delaunay, the Whoremaster of Spies, lover and protector of prince Rolande, the disgraced poet of Terre d’Ange after he publicly denounced Isabel (Rolande’s wife) of killing his near-cousin and Rolande’s foster fiancée Edmée de Rocaille (a death that, in Kushiel’s Chosen, was still resonating in David de Rocaille, the Cassiline traitor, who tried to kill Ysandre), the one who saw in Ysandre not the ghost of her mother, but the soul of her father, even if almost everyone in Terre d’Ange recognized the young Dauphine as the living image of Isabel: “It changed when Ysandre was born. Rolande's daughter. HOW IS IT that love always catches us unaware? I see a lot of you in her, Rolande. The relentless nobility, the determination, the firm sense of obligation. Although Ysandre looks a great deal like Isabel, I do not see her mother in her. Only you.” In the short novel, Anafiel and Rolande’s suspects toward Benedicte and his Serenissiman family were strong, and this was another foreshadowing of KC, since it was Benedicte, along with Melisande, who tried to destroy Ysandre’s legacy. Then, the infamous Battle, in Skaldia, and Rolande’s death. Both Alcuin’s adoption and then Phèdre’s, because “Whores make some of the best spies.” Anafiel was concerned about his two pupils, since he regretted having to use them as tools, especially the delicate and pale Alcuin, while he was extremely conscious of Phèdre’s origins and powers: “Phedre was another matter. From the beginning, I knew what she was and why I chose her. WHERE ARE YOU, my anguissette? Kushiel's Chosen, marked by the scarlet mote in your eye, bound by fate to experience pain as pleasure. No wonder Melisande delighted in you so. I am grateful you were not here today. Anafiel Delaunay's last pupil. I pray I taught you well; and that I was meant to do so. MAYHAP I SEALED my fate when I paid the price of Phedre's marque and took her into my household. It can be unwise for mortals to meddle in the affairs of the gods; but I was the only one who recognized her for what she was.” Anafiel, in Phèdre’s memories and words, is even more important than her actual parents. He saved her from a fate of service in Cereus House, he trained her and thanks to his efforts and teachings, she became the most important courtesan of the realm, then the Countess of Montrève, a title she honored for all her life, serving the Crown just like Anafiel did, if not better. And his last wishes are a pray to Phèdre and to Rolande, again: “But I kept her safe, Rolande. Your daughter, Ysandre. She is a grown woman now. I kept my oath. When she came to me for aid, I gave it to her; and yet there is something I missed. But I can do no more. Now it is in the hands of the gods, and their chosen. Did I cross the will of the gods? Here at the end, I pray I have not offended mighty Kushiel, punisher of the damned, in taking his chosen as my pupil; I pray he will use Phedre to administer his cruel mercy and bring justice to those who have murdered me; to continue the task of keeping Ysandre safe. I obeyed Blessed Elua's precept, of that I am sure. I loved you, Rolande. While you lived, I loved you with all my heart; you, and you alone. Even dying, it is true. All I can do is pray into the falling darkness, hoping to find you on the other side... And die.” This last scene is so well written that Anafiel’s words strike right in the heart. And I wonder that if Anafiel’s short novel is so amazing in its brevity, I’m sure that Joscelin’s KD pov will be great and it will give other wonderful insights on the story! <3

[white-queen-lacus]

Kushiel’s Legacy AU Well, Phèdre surely is not so curvy, since she’s petite and I couldn’t add the Kushiel’s dart in her eye, but... XD