#the deed of Paksenarrion

[book--brackets]

Dragonkeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul (2004-2008)

When Kale, a slave girl, finds a dragon egg, she is given the unexpected opportunity to become a servant to Paladin. But on her way to The Hall, where she was to be trained, Kale runs into danger. Rescued by a small band of Paladin's servants, Kale is turned from her destination. 

Feeling afraid and unprepared, Kale embarks on a perilous quest to find the meech dragon egg stolen by the foul Wizard Risto. But their journey is threatened when a key member of the party is captured, leaving the remaining companions to find the Wizard Fenworth, attempt an impossible rescue, and recover the egg--whose true value they have not begun to suspect.

Clocktaur War by T. Kingfisher (2017-2018)

A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It's not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T. Kingfisher's new novel begins the tale of a murderous band of criminals (and a scholar), thrown together in an attempt to unravel the secret of the Clockwork Boys, mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom that promise ruin to the Dowager's city.

If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon (1988-1989)

Paksenarrion — Paks for short — is somebody special. She knows it, even if nobody else does yet. No way will she follow her father's orders to marry the pig farmer down the road. She's off to join the army, even if it means she can never see her family again.

And so her adventure begins... the adventure that transforms her into a hero remembered in songs, chosen by the gods to restore a lost ruler to his throne.

Here is her tale as she lived it.

Paks is trained as a mercenary, blooded, and introduced to the life of a soldier . . . and to the followers of Gird, the soldier's god.

Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen (2006-2016)

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica -- an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.

Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds. And in the process, they will share a great adventure filled with clues that lead readers to the surprise revelation of the legendary storytellers these men will one day become.

Dragon Jousters by Mercedes Lackey (2003-2006)

The first book in this thrilling new series introduces us to a young slave who dreams of becoming a jouster-one of the few warriors who can actually ride a flying dragon. And so, in secret, he begins to raise his own dragon...

Frontier Magic by Patricia C. Wrede (2009-2012)

Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent -- and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan (2017)

The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border ― unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and ― best of all as far as Elliot is concerned ― mermaids.  "Serene," said Serene. "My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle." Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands. It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world. In Other Lands is the exhilarating new book from beloved and bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan. It’s a novel about surviving four years in the most unusual of schools, about friendship, falling in love, diplomacy, and finding your own place in the world ― even if it means giving up your phone.

Iron Butterfly by Chanda Hahn (2012-2014)

Imprisoned, starved and left with no memories, Thalia awakens to find herself at the mercy of an evil cult known as the Septori. Their leader has chosen Thalia as the test subject for a torture device of untold power, designed to change and twist her into something that is neither human nor Denai.

Escaping, Thalia finds an unwilling warrior to protect her and an unlikely Denai to befriend her. After finding a home at the Citadel as a servant, Thalia’s worst nightmare comes to life and she begins to show signs of power. Scared and unable to control her gifts, she tries to hide her past to fit in among the Denai. But the Septori want their latest test subject back and will stop at nothing to retrieve her, dead or alive.

Old Magic by Marianna Curley (2000)

Jarrod Thornton is mesmerizing, but Kate Warren doesn’t know why.

Jarrod is the clumsy new boy at school that Kate can’t take her eyes off, and it’s not just because he has amazing eyes, but because she senses something different about him, and when he inadvertently blows up the classroom, she knows exactly what it is. He has powers like her, except he doesn’t know it and Kate sets out to show him. On their journey of discovery Kate learns Jarrod has an ancient curse on his family that will keep hurting his little brother and parents if they don’t do something to remove it.

Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist (1988)

Successful screenwriter Phil Hastings decides to move his family from sunny California to a ramshackle farmhouse in New York State. The idea is to take some time out, relax and pick up the threads of his career as a novelist. Good plan, bad choice. The place they choose is surrounded by ancient woodland. The house they choose is the centrepoint of a centuries-old evil intent on making its presence felt to intruders.

[quinn10121012]

A bit of fanart for Elizabeth Moon’s 1980s fantasy series “the Deed of Pakesenarrion”, featuring the titular farm girl-turned-Paladin…

[judgeitbyitscover]

The Deed of Paksenarrion series by Elizabeth Moon

Cover art by Kevin Davies

Baen Books, 1988-1989

Sheepfarmer's Daughter (1988)

Paksenarrion — Paks for short — is somebody special. She knows it, even if nobody else does yet. No way will she follow her father's orders to marry the pig farmer down the road. She's off to join the army, even if it means she can never see her family again.

And so her adventure begins... the adventure that transforms her into a hero remembered in songs, chosen by the gods to restore a lost ruler to his throne.

Here is her tale as she lived it.

Paks is trained as a mercenary, blooded, and introduced to the life of a soldier . . . and to the followers of Gird, the soldier's god.

Divided Allegiance (1988)

Once a sheepfarmer's daughter, now a seasoned veteran, Paksenarrion has proven herself a fighter. Years with Duke Phelan's Company taught her weaponry, discipline, and how to react as part of a military unit.

Now, though, Paks feels spurred to a solitary destiny. Against all odds she is accepted as a paladin-candidate by the Fellowship of Gird. Years of study will follow, for a paladin must be versed in diplomacy and magic as well as the fighting arts. But before she is fully trained, Paks is called to her first mission: to seek out the fabled stronghold of Luap far to the west. The way is long, the dangers many - and not even the Marshal-General of Gird can say whether glory of ruin awaits.

Oath of Gold (1989)

Paksenarrion - Paks for short - was somebody special. Never could she have followed her father's orders and married the pig farmer down the road. Better a soldier's life than a pigfarmer's wife, and so though she knew that she could never go home again, Paks ran away to be a soldier. And so began and adventure destined to transform a simple Sheepfarmer's Daughter into a hero fit to be chosen by the gods.

[paksenarrion-dorthansdotter]

at last, something relevant to my username! if anyone is listening, i highly recommend Elizabeth Moon’s The Deed of Paksenarrion and the related books. she goes into a lot of this kind of stuff and they’re honestly probably the best books i’ve ever read. she was a marine and has a history degree and her descriptions of not only life as a common soldier in a military company, but also the workings of government and the church, are second to none. truly beautiful books. And yeah, there is some “one true king” stuff in there too, but it’s so much more thought out than most series, and especially the later books really dig into the meat of the world and why having a “good” king isn’t enough to fix all the problems (especially when that good king made some bad military decisions before he knew he was a king)

I'm always criticizing eurocentric fantasy worldbuilding, but one thing I think it's underused are city-states and trade republics and leagues. Not that they don't exist, but they're often in the background, the fantasy genre is so focused on monarchies and dynasties and noble drama, while those systems have so much room for intrigue and stuff without getting into "who's the TRUE heir of the super magical monarch" (yes, I know they had aristocratic families that ruled almost as monarchs, but trust me, Medici drama is another beast from regular feudal stuff)

Venice with its stupidly complex election system and their eternal rivals in Genoa, Florence home of the Rennaissance, the Hanseatic League, and lesser known examples like Novgorod, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Taifa of Córdoba, the Consolat de Mar (technically not a republic but kind of an Iberian Hansa) and if we go farther back, the leagues of city states of antiquity... you know what, I'm bored of feudalism. Next time I do a fantasy setting, it will all be city states and republics. Fuck feudalism.

[nonenosome2]

Reading the Deed of Paksenarrion series and liking it.

But, maybe I just don't remember since the last time I read was so long ago, god I hate the Girdsmen.

Paks does something good and gets a letter to train with them.

The Girdsmen: OK. You can train with us.

Paks: Trains with them.

Girdsmen: OMG. How dare you train with us and not give anything back to the order. What? Did you think we were training you just because we got a letter saying we should and agreed to it? Why would you ever think that? You could be evil. Nothing you have ever said or done shows you are evil, and even everything we have used says you aren't evil, but you could be. I mean, you lost your temper literally once after using a weapon you didn't know how to use and chopping into your own leg while being berated about not knowing how to use a weapon you had never used.

Paks: So you think I'm evil?

Girdsmen: What? I never said that. I just said you might be. I mean, you did lose your temper once after having shown you normally don't so this whole thing might just be an act because nobody ever loses their temper when they are normally calm. But, if you want to prove you aren't evil, even though I'm totally not saying you are, and so continue being trained by us, all you have to do is become a Girdsman.

Me: What the fuck?

[shadow-words]

Bloganuary: What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

_Bloganuary: What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?_ In which I mostly write about tropes related to the concept of immortality. #writing #writingcommunity

First thought: Nice if you can manage it in this economy. Second thought: Finally, a prompt that actually somewhat fits in with the main theme and purpose of this blog. The idea of an increased lifespan (or near or full immortality) is a recurring concept in both fantasy and science fiction. There are various takes on how a person who would normally have a relatively short lifespan would react…

[wearepaladin]

Do you have any book recommendations of fantasy novels that contain compelling paladin characters? I'd love to read some but I'm not even sure where to look, so if you have any recs I'm very curious.

Recommending Paladin books always feels a little awkward to me because I’m not always certain the characters would actually be paladins in their own setting and are just a certain kind of conviction driven hero. That said, here are a pair of trilogies where the protagonist explicitly becomes a Paladin and both are well grounded so their character and acts of heroism are universal in their appeal.

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. Moon deliberately wrote this book as someone tired of the Lawful Idiot stereotype and made a character we thoroughly enjoy becoming a Paladin, through both her highs and lows.

The Paladin Trilogy by Daniel M. Ford. Honestly my favorite self contained fantasy trilogy I’ve read in a while. A lot of the really modern fantasy books tend to be hard for me to jump into since they tend to go on forever. Ford’s Paladin Trilogy is smart, has an excellent Paladin’s journey, and has one of my favorite examples of watching a low fantasy setting evolve into a high fantasy one.

[duckprintspress]

7 Works with Aromantic Representation for Aromantic Awareness Week!

Today, February 18th, marks the beginning of Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week! To celebrate, we asked our contributors to recommend to us books with aro characters. This was a doubly challenging ask, because we also did a rec list for Aromantic Awareness Week last year, and we didn’t want any repeats this year!

Archivist Wasp (Archivist Wasp Saga) by Nicole Kornher-Stace

An Accident of Stars (Manifold Worlds series) by Foz Meadows

Not Your Backup (Sidekick Squad series) by C.B. Lee

Hockey Bois by A.L. Heard

Sheepfarmer’s Daughter (The Deed of Paksenarrion series) by Elizabeth Moon

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos series) by Samantha Shannon

Recommendations contributed by Shadaras (@shadaras on Tumblr), Nina Waters (@unforth on Tumblr), Polls (@not-gwaenchanha on Tumblr), and Shea Sullivan.

What are your favorite aro books? There’s no such thing as too many aro books on our bookshelves!

You can view all the aromantic books we’ve recommended as a bookshelf on Goodreads!

Want to chat your favorite reads with us? Join our Book Lover’s Discord server!

Love reading queer books? Our Queer Book Challenge is running on Storygraph through the end of 2024. Come join us! We’ve hit 100 readers, and it’d be awesome to have even more!

[aro-who-reads]

Aro book review: The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon

I recently had another look through the old aro and ace character database to see what else I might like to read, and was then a bit intimated by the 1200 page 3-in-1 edition of this high fantasy trilogy turned up for me at the library. And while it did take me a while to get through it, it was actually quite engaging throughout!

First published in the 80s, it pre-dates the common usage of the terms asexual and aromantic. It is still made very clear though throughout the series (especially in book one) that the main character is aroace and has no interest in romance or sex.

The writing and action were well done, and I was pleased that the main character being a woman was not a big deal in this world. That said, the world building was a bit generic for me, especially the obvious and mostly unquestioned 'good' and 'bad' sides. There were also a few sections I found unnecessary/overly graphic: a minor sub-plot in book one around attempted rape, and a lengthy and detailed torture scene at the end.

While an older and less explored example of aroace rep, if you enjoy high fantasy and are looking for a story focused more on personal journey rather than interpersonal relationships, this might be worth checking out!

[paladin-tourney]

Round 1, Side A - D'Arce (Fear and Hunger) vs. Paksenarrion (The Deed of Paksemarrion by Elizabeth Moon)

Propaganda:

D'Arce (Fear and Hunger)

her hair is dumb and i like that

Paksenarrion (The Deed of Paksenarrion)

First of, she is literally a paladin. She starts out as a shepherd's daughter and then goes on to join a mercenary company and eventually becomes a paladin. She fights cultists and various monsters over her journeys and eventually disappears. Not too clear on the details because I haven't read the books for awhile. Unrelated to her paladin accomplishments, she is canonically aroace (:

Pakse is *the* Paladin ideal - she's got the touch of the gods, the sense of evil, the divine mount and beyond all that, hell even when she doesn't have any of those things yet, she's so damn good. Virtuous to a fault.

[crackinglamb]

Get to Know the Blogger

Hopping on @fadedsweater's open invite. 😁

Passing it on as an open invite to anyone who wants to do it.

Last song: Something by U2, from the Joshua Tree album. (It's what's playing in my car right now, because I'm Old(tm) and and so is my van, so it has a CD player)

Favourite colour: Silver gray

Last book: I have read nothing new in years. Fanfic life forever. But I've been on a reread kick of Jacqueline Carey's Terre D'Ange series, Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksenarrion and Sarah Zettel's Reclamation.

Last movie: Amadeus (unless we're counting me occasionally looking across the room while @lilbittymonster was streaming Labyrinth and I started quoting lines in the right place without being able to hear it)

Last TV show: I'm borrowing The Crown from my mom and I've just started season 3.

Sweet/spicy/savoury: Savory, then sweet. No spicy! (am allergic to capsaicin)

Relationship status: Aro-for-aro-ship, and incredibly happy. Also in a queerplatonic polycule.

Last thing I googled: How to spell 'Paksenarrion'. 😆

Current obsession: Eh. Nothing? I've been enjoying some brain quiet lately. It's nice.

Looking forward to: Being truly financially independent. This is the year I will begin my five year plan to get a better job, buy out my ex on this house and never have to worry about that particular sword of Damocles again.

Blank template under the cut

Last song:

Favourite colour:

Last book:

Last movie:

Last TV show:

Sweet/spicy/savoury:

Relationship status:

Last thing I googled:

Current obsession:

Looking forward to:

[book--brackets]

Sorry if these have all been done:

Hitchhiker's series - Adams

Myth Adventures series - Asprin

Valdemar series - Lackey

DragonLance Chronicles - Weis & Hickman

Discworld series - Pratchett

Young Wizards series - Duane

The Hollows series - Harrison

The Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy - Moon

Weaveworld - Barker

2001 and 2010 - both by Clarke

Enchanted Forest Chronicles - Wrede

The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown - both by McKinley

I added most of these; both Space Odyssey and Hitchhiker are considered sci-fi, not fantasy, so I didn't include those, and Valdemar is a very extensive series, and we already have two sections of it on the list, so I'm not going to add the whole thing. Instead, you can submit one of the smaller sets within the series!

[sunfallsprophet]

get to know the mun

What's your phone wallpaper?: Currently this.

Last song listened to: "Run Baby Run" by 2WEI, Ali Christenhusz. Sometimes I need suspenseful music to set the mood while writing and what not.

Currently reading: The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon

Last movie: Uhh... I think Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse?

Last show: DOTA: Dragon's Blood.

What are you wearing right now?: Blue and purple tie-dye t-shirt and flowy yellow floral pants. They do not match at all, but I'm wearing them as pajamas basically.

How tall are you?: 5 feet tall lmao.

Piercings/Tattoos: My ears were pierced. I say "were" because I haven't worn earrings in a long time, so they might've closed up somewhat.

Glasses/Contacts?: Glasses.

Last thing you ate?: Kielbasa and strawberry lemonade.

Favorite Color: Forest/emerald green.

Current obsession: Well, I said Elden Ring and US politics/current events in my last "About Me" post, both of which are still true. Besides that, I've always been pretty obsessed about my original character, Djahima lmao. They've gone through a shit ton of development over the years. Fun fact: when I was in high school, Djahima was originally named after a Pokemon.

Do you have a crush right now?: Crush deez nuts (no).

Favorite fictional character: There's a few, but if I had to choose one, gun to my head? I'd say Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate; I was obsessed with his character for years. Still kinda am, but it's cooled off. Other favorite characters include Calypso/Tia Dalma from Pirates of the Caribbean (Djahima's inspiration), The Whispering Hillock/Black Beauty and the crones Weavess, Whispess, and Brewess from The Witcher 3, Miguel O'hara (I'm assuming we all know where he's from), Lae'zel from Baldur's Gate 3, Hecate from Hades 2 even though I barely know anything about her right now but I don't need to because that's peak fuckin character design right there. The pattern here is that I love pathetic, broken men who are a hairsbreadth away from being insane and women who are already deranged and are so sexy about it. Feminism, innit?

Last place you traveled: Like traveled, traveled? Iceland.

tagged by: @hauntsect (thank you!! <3)

tagging: @yaksha-garden @themckaytriarchy @iobartach @vernades & anyone reading this that wants to do it.

[frankenmouse]

10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags:

I’ve been tagged by @chang-e-official!

So here are ten characters from ten fandoms. These aren’t necessarily my blorbos, but characters I thought were compelling and have remained with me.

1. Larry Trainor, Doom Patrol

2. Mordin Solus, Mass Effect

3. Zagreus, Hades (video game)

4. Alistair Therin, Dragon Age: Origins

5. Karlach, Baldur’s Gate 3

6. Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter, Deed of Paksenarrion (book)

7. Cole Cassidy (née Jesse McCree), Overwatch

8. John Marston, Red Dead Redemption

9. Corvo Attano, Dishonored

10. Nick Valentine, Fallout 4

And if you want to participate…

@liquidlyrium @theggning @shadoedseptmbr @msbarrows @frogspawned @classywastelandbread-blog @mossworm

and anyone else who wants to play!

[chadhunkler]

tagged by @tsupertsundere

oh god I haven't read physical books in a minute

hardcover or paperback // bookstore or library // bookmark or receipt // stand alone or series // nonfiction or fiction // thriller or fantasy // under 300 pages or over 300 pages // children's or ya // friends to lovers or enemies to lovers // read in bed or read on the couch // read at night or read in the morning // keep pristine or markup // cracked spine or dog ear

A couple reasonings, I loved a bunch of fantasy series when I was in school, always stayed up reading The Deed of Paksenarrion, and I admit I may have dog-eared that book...

Thank you for tagging me! I have no idea who to tag uhhhhh

@rasenkaikyo @shroudkeeper @ooeygooeyghoul @oh-yeah-no if you wanna do it and also anyone else who sees it, go ahead!

[autumnslance]

I saw you replied to my fear post, thank you for that. I’ve been trying to make an OC that is both a main and a character for writing like Aeryn is for you. My next question is can I take a canon character like Aerith, Rinoa, or Yuna for example as a base and then work to make them my own OC? I’ve been really into FF7 and the Atelier series, Aerith is the perfect candidate to be an Alchemist! Are any of your OCs inspired by your favorite characters in other series?

You're welcome! And I think that taking an existing character as inspiration is a good way to start with making an OC. I've done it a few times in some tabletop games, but also often don't consciously, only realizing there are similarities to characters I've loved after the fact.

In a tabletop game, I made a character initially inspired by a dancer character from one of the Lunar games, but the game didn't go anywhere (as often happens). I held onto that base concept, and then years later found a Pathfinder game the concept worked in perfectly, also letting me revise the character greatly.

My WoW paladin, Alynore, was inspired by characters like Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5, Paksenarrion from Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksenarrion novel series, and a little of Sleepy from The Black Company novel series. They're all dedicated military women, leaders, queer (1 bisexual, 2 asexual), no-nonsense, and value dedication, justice, and even kindness in their own ways.

I also took the idea of some favorite twin characters from a show who were taken in by their noble father, but ran away a few years later. I did a "what if a trusted member of the household was discovered to have let them run away, and now was charged with finding them?" and turned that into an OC in another game.

Aeryn maybe has some other Final Fantasy heroines in her makeup, but as I'd played through XIV twice before, I noted how the game treats what I call "Assumed Default WoL." They can't account for every permutation of the player character; even games like Dragon Age, or Mass Effect, or Baldur's Gate can't account for every version of their player heroes. But there are baseline assumptions, and so I baked that into the concept when I came up with Aeryn. An adventurous altruist, a determinator, a little bit of a gremlin--especially as time goes on and "this is my life now" really sets in (and WoL's dialogue options include a few more unhinged possibilities in some places). I looked at the influences and inspirations, said "OK, I know why they adventure, why does this girl?" In Aeryn's case, I started simple: I knew her brother was 1.0 WoL and never returned, so she was looking.

That was it. A lot of the rest of the details came later.

It's OK--and I often recommend--leaving a lot of backstory details loose and vague to start. I did the same with Dark Autumn, with C'oretta, Iyna, and various past characters in WoW and others. It let me add, change, shuffle, and write things in later. Sometimes even retcon and rework things.

Don't be afraid of that, especially when using other characters as starting points. Use the broad strokes summaries of their story and adjust it to fit in the new setting you're importing them to; goodness knows FF itself does this all the time (look at the Ivalice raid and Bozja story and related characters from Tactics and XII!). And then change things as needed, especially as you get ideas and interactions that feel "right" for the character and yourself, the stories you want to tell.

And maybe later you want to change them again (you come up with something new, lore drops make you want to play around with a different thing, etc), or make up AUs, or other characters to tell other stories. Play around, experiment, and remember nothing is set in stone.