#yeah multiple residents of the hold - including family members - think he's after his 12-y.o. bastard nephew

[enbyboiwonder]

lol in book 2, we take that “gays are all perverts who prey on children” bigotry and beat it over the head with a stick

It’s 12 years after book 1, and Van’s back after a year-long stint at the border doing alone what would take 5 normal Herald-Mages. He thinks people’s awe and fear and whatnot of him is just because he’s gay, but it’s actually because of his magic and how powerful he is (most people don’t even know he’s gay)—except back home, where’s he’s just the prodigal son with certain proclivities no one likes to talk about, rather than some unknown, powerful force. His father’s pretty bad about the prejudice, but the priest is even worse. So with him, Vanyel acts as gay and feminine as he can and pretends to come on to him to freak him the fuck out and get him to flee, it’s great

Also I think it is book 3 that we finally meet Lendel’s reincarnation (Stef, I’m pretty sure; I did a bit of skimming and that name stood out to me). So I have no idea what happens in book 2 lol I don’t remember it at all, since it would have to be book 3 when the Herald-Mages start being killed one by one (or at least when it becomes clear that though other Heralds are dying too, Herald-Mages are being specifically targeted), which is the next major plot point I remember

Last night I finished book 1 and wanted to start book 2 and read until I passed out, but I had work this morning so I couldn’t stay up too late and so decided not to start it until today, but then I ended up staying up until like 1:30 anyway bc my brain plopped a few 2.43 characters into this setting and gave me a fic that’s probably a bad idea to start writing now considering it’s apparently set during book 3, but oh well. Also it’s so angsty, help. (Chika’s Vanyel, Yuni’s Tylendel, and my brain landed on Aoki as Stef. And it’s set during that scene after Stef lifebonded to Vanyel—which Vanyel hadn’t wanted to happen—and in doing so veritably saved his life after he was attacked. Don’t remember by who/what though. Or if his aunt Savil was still alive at that point or if it was a different Herald/Herald-Mage in that scene. Augh, and I can’t spend literally all day reading, so it’ll take me at least a couple days to get there. It’s killing me!)