#kotlc hylda

[bookwyrminspiration]

Thoughts on Queen Hylda?

I have many thoughts! All the time, nonsie!

the main time we see and interact with Queen Hylda is during the peace summit in Lumenaria during Lodestar, most notably when she reaches out independently to Sophie prior to discuss strategy.

The demands she wants to make are for the ogres to turn over all their weapons and stop any and all training of any kind, even defensive. Essentially, neutralize themselves so they can no longer present a threat to the goblins. She also thinks she should be given the ogre who killed Brielle (my beloved), and votes to allow Fintan into the Peace Summit. These actions are what I’ll mainly be drawing from because she’s directly on page.

Goblins and ogres historically don’t get along well, but it seems a bit far to demand they give up all weapons and training seeing as they are a warrior species of sorts. Training to fight and defend is a core part of who the ogres are and how they’re characterized throughout the series. Every ogre we’ve met for more than a few sentences has been a trained fighter. it’s crucial to their species in the story. So for Queen Hylda to demand that be taken away is very extreme and affects more that just peace. Yes, the ogre’s wouldn’t be able to fight back against anyone, but their entire culture and way of life would be distrupted. And Hylda doesn’t care. She hates the ogres and holds so much against them she has no problem demaning they destroy their history and culture. I don’t think this was intentional on Shannon’s part, but that is generally what would happen if the ogre’s were to put down their weapons.Hylda sees the ogres as less than human (i’m applying the phrase to mean less than an intelligent species and not deserving of the basic respects)

Second, she agrees to let Fintan into the meeting. At this point I don’t think she had anything personal against Fintan, blaming the ogres and not the Neverseen organizing the ogres for the death of Brielle. There’s a whole other debate over who’s “at fault,” but I see Fintan as partially responsible, so it stands out to me that Hylda doesn’t. It appears she’s so blinded by her hatred for the ogre’s it’s impacted her ability to think critically about situations involving them, assuming them at fault for everything. This trickles down into her people and we can see this mindset in Sandor as well (although working with Bo has helped that).

Moving away from that, I can understand her wanting the ogre who killed Brielle and feeling betrayed (showed through Sandor) when it’s learned that ogre was killed by the king instead of handled by her people. That was a loss of one of her warriors. She wanted that retribution. Which I also find interesting. She’s invested in her soldiers, has a strong enough bond with some of them that they will have direct communication (again, with Sandor). Hylda is incredibly devoted to her people, to the point she’s become blinded to the customs and respect other species deserve. it’s interesting from a character perspective, but dangerous for a leader.

TL;DR: Queen Hylda’s main purpose in the story is to work against the ogres, so it’s become her defining characteristic. She doesn’t exist outside her hatred. The devotion she has for her people is so focused on protecting them from ogres she’s unable to respect them.

[magicalwalrus]

I don’t want to see the Keeper series end so ...

Petition to have a keeper spin-off series about the adults (as kids or after the events of KOTLC). I wanna see badass Della and Juline, adorable Gradaline, Sandor and Grizel being awesome, Flori, Prentice and Tiergan being Wylie’s gay dads, Kesler being a prank master, QUEEN HYLDA, Alden getting scolded (preferably by Della) for being a bad parent, etc, etc. 

[yerabearmum]

Sophie: coughs

Sandor, Grady, Edaline, the entire Elven Council: we need a medic!!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Character Analysis Masterpost: Other

don’t see a character/topic you want? Send me an ask!

reminder: all these posts are just my opinions and observations. They are not absolute and you are more than welcome to disagree with me. There’s no right way to interpret a character

The Black Swan:

Working with the council had a negative impact

Creating Sophie as a solution to their problems was entirely unfair to her

They used Emma unfairly

They aren't "good"

Sophie is hurting because of them

Respect for Sophie? Don't know her

What could Livvy's ability be?

The Neverseen:

Leaving Umber's body behind

None Of Them Like Each Other

Could Gethen be Sophie's biological father?

They are incredibly dysfunctional

Why have their methods changed so much?

Is there a reason why some members have code names and others don't?

The Council:

they are definitely not gonna be happy about that arson thing...

More about Sophie's arson

Oralie and her reveal

If Sophie were presumed dead again, what would they think?

Their change was inevitable

The Council doesn't seem to be doing their job

They're incompetent and a little strange to read

Oralie is acting like the victim and Sophie is justifiably pissed

What would I change about the council if I could?

Did they know about Keefe's home life and choose to ignore it?

The Elven World:

Why don't we see Grady and Edaline's extended family?

The elves and others' views on humans

How do phasers' ability work? and part two and also a part three

I don't like that Banshees are animals in this world

Elves don't have any hobbies or past-times! And it's weird

Elves and music

How do they view substances?

What's up with the waste management and those buildings?

Elves and the slavery period

Possible side effects of abilities (mostly me having fun)

Why do so many of the kids look so strongly like their parents?

Exillium is horrific and a part two

Do they have any food that isn't goopy fruit?

Do they dance? What about the music?

The Elven World is stagnant and pt 2

Elves as a whole

Exillium was more to shock Sophie than actually make sense

Do telepaths actually follow the rules?

The adults don't really act like adults

Could the elven world have inspired Greek mythology?

Festivals and Food!!

Do elves have free speech?

Do elves have religion? Probably not but they're kinda spiritual

The economy makes zero sense

The body diversity falls short

Timezones simply don't work

Are elves really smarter than humans?

Prattles pins, so confusing

The school system as a whole

Could empaths block emotions?

Other Leaders:

Queen Hylda’s hatred is out of hand

Queen Nubiti and King Enki

Why was King Enki sent to the somnatorium?

King Dimitar's name meaning explained (not clickbait)

Misc:

Representation in kotlc and token characters

everyone is morally grey

Why is Unlocked my favorite book in the series?

Kotlc is meant for kids, and they love it <33

What does dwarven music sound like?

This series gets so much hate sometimes

Why are there so many italics in Legacy?

Could any of the humans have been changed by experimentation?

Stellarlune's cover!!

The whole series happens in only a few years

Sophie's high school experience confuses me

That field trip from book one is inaccurate

Gnomes are hardcore

Why does the fandom forget about Lodestar?