#narnia worldbuilding

[bread-tab]

okay random 4am rant time, don't take it too seriously, but: people need to recognize there's a difference between "bad worldbuilding" and "worldbuilding styles you personally don't like."

bad worldbuilding is, for example: internally inconsistent, bigoted, or something else that messes up the plot or characterization of the story itself. sloppy. careless.

things that are *not* bad worldbuilding:

minimalism.

i've been thinking about this in the first place because i saw a post about the Murderbot Diaries a while back (don't know who made it, don't care; this ain't personal) saying the worldbuilding in those books is bad and lazy. to me, as an avid sci-fi reader and writer, that is clearly not true. but i understood why they thought this. the series uses extremely minimalist worldbuilding which intentionally withholds a lot of detail, in a way that is consistent with the (nonhuman, robot, depressed robot) first-person POV. this could also be a feature of the author's writing style in general—i haven't read her other works—but i wouldn't bet too much on it.

the signature of intentional minimalism is that there *are* details about the speculative setting—they're just doled out very thoughtfully and sparingly. the intent is to leave you a little hungry for more. it's to make you think very carefully about the details you do have. this is best suited to stories that already have elements of psychological and/or mystery plot types. the worldbuilding you do see should still be believable, internally consistent, and have interesting implications if you think about it a bit. but you are for sure going to have to think harder to get it.

if you're not in the mood, i will concede, a minimalist style definitely comes off as a bit dry. if you are in the mood, it's relaxing.

whimsy.

this is a big one for sci-fi fans in particular. see: the constant debate about whether any particular story is "hard" or "soft" sci-fi, and whether soft sci-fi is bad, etc etc. but worldbuilding doesn't have to be realistic to be good. you're allowed to have Jedi and humanoid aliens and time travel in your sci-fi. you're allowed to have historical anachronisms and astrology and po-ta-toes in your fantasy. whether or not they're silly isn't the deciding factor on how "good" these worldbuilding elements really are.

the key thing is tonal consistency. you've got a serious high-fantasy setting with its own strict, un-Earth-like theology and magic system, and you throw Santa Claus in there? yeah, that's not gonna land well. but C.S. Lewis can get away with that in Narnia just fine. why? because the Chronicles of Narnia are whimsical children's stories with a strong Christian/Western mythological influence already, and their central conceit is a crossover between the mundane world and the magical world. of course Santa can cross over too. it's whimsical, but it's not actually random. (and if you ventured into straight-up comedy, you could get away with random too. as long as it's funny.)

the unreliable narrator.

i don't have a good example for this off the top of my head (maybe Murderbot again? idk, i'm sleepy, fill in your own) but i'll tell you how to recognize when this is done well.

by definition, an unreliable narrator has some key misconceptions about their own world. so how do you tell what's going on as a reader? how do you know the writer isn't equally confused?

you connect the dots. solve the puzzle. in practice this is similar to reading a minimalist setting—but instead of just sparse clues, you also have a boatload of red herrings. you can catch some of these misleading details by comparing them to your real-world knowledge and saying "wait, this doesn't add up." other times, the false clues intentionally trick you by subverting those real world expectations.

the trick is in the consequences. regardless of what the narrator says, their actions should still have logical consequences. there should be things going on that the POV character doesn't know about. the character will be forced to learn and adapt their narrative because of these shifting circumstances. you can catch them in a lie. the inconsistencies themselves tell a story.

...

i'm gonna stop myself there because this post is long and i oughtta be sleeping. just. this is a distinction worth making. is it really bad worldbuilding, or is it simply not the genre you're craving today? learn the difference for your own sake. you'll have an easier time realizing if a story is something you'll find enjoyable to read, regardless of its actual quality.

[auroraborus]

Me, writing: Damn I have so many cool worldbuilding ideas that I want to explore but obviously I can't just pivot my entire story into a semi-coherant journey through the coolest parts

Clive Staples Lewis: *avoiding eye contact as he surreptitiously slides a copy of "The Voyage of The Dawn Treader" under a pillow*

[hoaxghost]

Are there notable angels/demons in the File Recovery universe based on works such as the Ars Goeta or the Shem Ha-Mephorash? If so, what are they?

I've taken some light inspiration from the Ars Goeta (Stolforns name is really just a combination of Stolas+Forneus) and Dantes Inferno but have mostly strayed from mentioning specific demon names/locations and themes in other works.

Well I guess besides the Bible- again File Recovery is based round a lot of complex religious thoughts I had going to catholic school/church as a kid so I consider it impossible for me to not to take influence from the old and new testament, the seven virtues, saints, confirmation, communion etc... idk I just want more religious fantasy stories that aren't all about converting people or modern day politics

[ginevrastilinski-ocs]

Narnia OCs Masterlist

Name: Aine Meraxes

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Untitled

LI: Liz Pevensie

Quote: I'm going to be the deadliest piece on the board.

Pinterest: X

FC: Millie Alcock

Name: Amaranta Ira

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Untitled

LI: Prince Caspian & Edmund Pevensie

Quote: She conquered her demons and wore her scars like wings.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Amita Suman

Name: Avaluna Lohan Kirke

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Untitled

LI: Lucy Pevensie

Quote: I'm just a girl trying to find a place in this world.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Elle Fanning

Name: Fitzroy Mahogany

Pronouns: he/him

Story: Untitled

LI: Peter Pevensie

Quote: I do not believe this darkness will endure.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Douglas Booth

Name: Edurne

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Long Cold Lonely Winter

LI: Peter Pevensie

Quote: She waits, seething, blooming.

Pinterest: X

FC: Freya Allan

Name: Kalila

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Clairvoyant Dreams

LI: Susan Pevensie & Prince Caspian

Quote: Now she sits on her throne in her palace of bones, praying to her greed. She's got my past frozen behind a glass, but I've got me.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Phia Saban

Name: Killian Evada

Pronouns: he/him

Story: King And Lionheart

LI: Edmund Pevensie

Quote: Even if I can't find heaven, I'll walk through hell with you.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Thomas Brodie Sangster

Name: Leocadius Thorne

Pronouns: he/him

Story: Untitled

LI: N/A

Quote: Fill your mind with knowledge. It's the only kind of power no one can take away from you.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Isaac Hempstead Wright

Name: Liz Pevensie

Pronouns: she/her & they/them

Story: Untitled

LI: Aine Meraxes

Quote: We were children thrust into war and once it ends, what will we become?

Pinterest: X

FC: Maisie Williams

Name: Magpie Kirke

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Untitled

LI: Peter Pevensie & Prince Caspian

Quote: Oh I'm no longer a kid. And everything has changed.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Florence Pugh

Name: Marianne Luell

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Untitled

LI: N/A

Quote: And I can go anywhere I want. Anywhere I want, just not home.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Sarah Bolger

Name: Merletta Of Narnia

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Untitled

LI: Lucy Pevensie

Quote: But I miss you in the mornings when I see the sun, something in the orange tells me we're not done.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Ceara Coveney

Name: Neera Merwyna

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Untitled

LI: Prince Caspian

Quote: Do it because they said you couldn't.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Halle Bailey

Name: Nevan Dair

Pronouns: he/him

Story: Untitled

LI: Edmund Pevensie

Quote: I'll make it though the winter if it kills me.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Kit Young

Name: Shivani

Pronouns: they/them

Story: Untitled

LI: Susan Pevensie

Quote: My soul comes from better worlds and I have an incurable homesickness of the stars.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Jessie Mei Li

Name: Verena Mars

Pronouns: she/her

Story: Untitled

LI: Susan Pevensie

Quote: The laws of the universe say that the person I love is lost to me. I say watch me save her.

Pinterest: TBD

FC: Hailee Steinfeld

[rainintheevening]

Any detailed suggestions on what Mr. Pevensie did for work before/after being a soldier?

Dawn Treader says he's doing a 'sixteen week lecture tour' in America, but not what he's lecturing about. Also that is before the end of the war.

So he must have gotten injured enough to get sent home, otherwise he would have been gone till the war ended.

Other sources suggested teacher, inventor, or writer.

Thoughts? Go ahead and spitball all you like.

[gatsby-system-folks]

Emergency commissions

My friend Nev was kicked out of their parents' house last night, December 10th. My friends and I are trying to find them a safe place to go. I'm opening commissions to cover hotels, food, and hopefully (coming up this march) rent. Every shelter I've spoken with is full due to the cold weather.

I'm doing illustration, writing, poetry, editting, and worldbuilding commissions. I'm handling funds through my c-shpp for proof of payment's sake, but every cent of this money is going to Nev. $gatsbysystemfolks

Also NOT SPAMTAGGING. If you're seeing this post in a fandom tag, then you can potentially get content for that fandom here

Info below:

Illustration:

Some examples of my work

I'll also do relatively short comics. This is a snippet from my webcomic. A sketch is $10, colored sketch is $15, lineart is $10, colored lineart is $15. Shading or lighting on anything will add $10. I'm not separating character art and landscape art, both have the same rate, but something with more than 5 characters or something set in a city (or otherwise densely populated/elaborate area) will be a little more ($5 for every character above 5, and an extra $10 for an elaborate scene). Comics are the same, each page (not each panel) will be treated as a piece.

Writing:

I'll write for ocs, and from:

Homestar Runner

Rise of the tmnt

The Usagi Chronicles

Gorillaz

Good Omens

Undertale/Deltarune

Homestuck (and its affiliates, such as pesterquest or friendsim)

Venom

Moon Knight

Treasure Planet

Hellboy

Doctor Who

Our Flag Means Death

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

The original 6 Star Wars movies

The Spiderverse series, itsv and atsv

The Davina skit from Rab C Nesbitt. (I see yall shipping Davina with Mrs. Robinson and I love yall)

If something's not on this list, you can still ask, and if I've seen whatever the media is I'll probably write it. On the other hand, if i haven't seen all of the content for the medias listed above, I'll have to do some research so it might not be the best work (ie the only reason I'm limiting this to the first 6 star wars movies is because I haven't seen any more than that)

I'll do ships between canon characters or between ocs, I'm not comfortable doing x reader content at this point. Also.. they don't have to be ships lol I also do just. Fics.

Some examples of my work:

I'm gonna keep it simple and do $20 per thousand words, but there's not a minimum word count. That's $0.02 per word lol. When you describe the fic ill give you an estimate of how many words I can do it in, and we can adjust. If the fic goes more than 150 words over the final estimate then it's flat-rate (as in the price doesn't continue to climb)

Poetry

Any subject really. I'll add examples of my work when the website I post on is fixed. Poetry is twice the price of fic

Editing:

Keep it under 5,000 words for now. $8 per hour. I'll edit fic, essays, etc.

Worldbuilding:

If you need help figuring out a magic system, how pipes connect your city, weird biological facts about your aliens, or even just where to put the castle parking lot, I can help. Same rules of fic writing and editing: if we chat worldbuilding for an hour, it'll be $8. If you want a 500 word summary of your new worlbuilding, that'll be $10. The text of the chat of course is free, you can pause your time of course, and whatever time I spend writing the summary isn't double charged. So an hour of chatting+ a 500 word summary would be $18

What I won't work with, in any format

Heavy nsfw- light is ok

Incest, pedophilia, noncon etc

Hate, bigotry, overly political work, bullying

Torture

Glorification of not good things. Depiction does not equal glorification

Case by case: real, living people. Context below.

What I won't draw, specifically:

Gore

abuse (such as beating, verbal, emotional)

Self harm

Everything is case-by-case, if something makes me uncomfortable I'm not going to do it. You may not put my work into an ai scraper of any kind. Also I'll say it again, depiction does not equal glorification.

Context on real people: I mean if you want me to just draw a picture of Margot Robbie that's most likely fine, or write about the wacky secret society that Laura Ingals and St. Patrick were running that's probably fine, or if a real living person appears in the background that's probably fine (I see you good omens fans having Crowley and Hozier hang out at a bar), but I won't write shipping for real, currently living people, nor will i make them the mc of a story. I'd prefer not for dead people either, but that's not a hard rule. Once again, case by case.

[queenlucythevaliant]

How are Narnian Talking Beasts' ability to talk inherited? Genetically or magically? Make a poll of this.

Sorry dude, but I'm not gonna make a poll because I already know the answer: when it comes to Narnia, the answer is always, always, always some combination of "it works via magic" and "because Aslan said so." In the case of the Talking Beasts, it's both. C.S. Lewis did not care at all about the genetic transmission of Animal Speaking Ability, so neither will I.

[kingorqueenofnarnia]

The Age of Icons (AO3)

A new project! This is going to be a multi part series about Narnia, with world building and a lot of canon divergence. We change trajectory when the Pevensies fall out of Narnia, and instead of one year, it is five years before they go back to Prince Caspian's time. And back in Telmar occupied Narnia, Caspian is almost eighteen...

A new part has been posted in the series:

Prologue: Prince Caspian Flees

The time has come: Prunaprismia has given birth, and Caspian must run.

[willknightauthor]

PREACH, BROTHER!

[bedlamsbard]

re the what fic would you write if you had the energy post, I would LOVE to see you revisit Narnia some day

I think about it sometimes! It's probably unlikely (though never impossible) that I'll ever write another novel-length fic there, but I did a ficbit a few years ago after almost ten years away so...it's very possible!

[sing-you-fools]

a fun thing about including fauns in my fantasy worldbuilding is that whenever i talk out loud about my writing it sounds like i included this guy for. no reason

[castingmysilver]

More thoughts I wrote up on Narnia headcanons from elsewhere...

---

I actually have some strongly-held theories about the transition of Jadis into the White Witch role? I have the idea that... basically, just as she found herself without working magic when she tried to curse Aunt Letty in MN, she was also effectively powerless at first in Narnia. She had ambition and the evil in her heart, and thus potential to be a threat, but she wasn't a powerful enchantress there any more because different worlds' magic runs on different rules, you see. In her unrecorded time up North she had to have done some research and experimentation, and learned more about the world she was stuck in. Possibly the apple of youth gave her a jump-start on... fitting into the world's magical ecosystem so to speak, but I think she learned she needed to work to some extent within the Emperor's laws for her magic to *function properly* in the bounds of Narnia, and so she sort of... slipped into a role in the magical ecosystem to camouflage herself, and get the world to accept her. I further theorize, although I'm less certain on this, that her role was not *limited* to being "the Emperor's hangman" - that was Mr. Beaver's grasp at an explanation! Her role was quite literally *Winter,* she made herself into a sort of seasonal spirit representing Winter's aspect as the death and stasis of the world, and refused to ever move aside for Spring to come until Aslan forced it to happen. The bit where she had permission within the magic laws to bring death where death was due, was almost a side-effect of the Winter nature. I also think this may have been how she had authority to keep Father Christmas out of the domain she tyrannized, he's *joy* within Winter and celebration of the light at the midpoint of the darkness and the coming of the King into the world, but as long as she jammed up the workings of the turning of the seasons there was no midpoint to celebrate. The King had to return to restore nature to wholeness and its natural cycle. In a way she should perhaps have suspected that the Deep Magic had ancient loopholes for resurrection, even if she didn't know they would be specifically triggered by an innocent substitutionary sacrifice - after all, Winter can't keep nature dead no matter how it may try, much less nature's Lord.

This is, of course, my private way of understanding how the transition between those elements of the book would "work" in that world! I do recognize that Lewis ran very heavily on thematic "vibes" rather than insisting on coherent worldbuilding, and there is no guarantee he didn't just retcon her origin story on a whim.

[cjbolan]

In light of Greta Gerwig now directing Narnia, I wonder what if she directs Emily Windsnap next?

[camifornilla]

I’ve been adoring Greywaren so far but I can’t help but be mad at the fandom for bullying the hell out of Miss Maggie and forcing her to drop this series, preventing us from getting more books with more stories about this incredibly rich world she created. I’m never getting over the fact that there would’ve been more and she’s completely wiping her hands of this series now.

[aethersea]

another thing fantasy writers should keep track of is how much of their worldbuilding is aesthetic-based. it's not unlike the sci-fi hardness scale, which measures how closely a story holds to known, real principles of science. The Martian is extremely hard sci-fi, with nearly every detail being grounded in realistic fact as we know it; Star Trek is extremely soft sci-fi, with a vaguely plausible "space travel and no resource scarcity" premise used as a foundation for the wildest ideas the writers' room could come up with. and much as Star Trek fuckin rules, there's nothing wrong with aesthetic-based fantasy worldbuilding!

(sidenote we're not calling this 'soft fantasy' bc there's already a hard/soft divide in fantasy: hard magic follows consistent rules, like "earthbenders can always and only bend earth", and soft magic follows vague rules that often just ~feel right~, like the Force. this frankly kinda maps, but I'm not talking about just the magic, I'm talking about the worldbuilding as a whole.

actually for the purposes of this post we're calling it grounded vs airy fantasy, bc that's succinct and sounds cool.)

a great example of grounded fantasy is Dungeon Meshi: the dungeon ecosystem is meticulously thought out, the plot is driven by the very realistic need to eat well while adventuring, the story touches on both social and psychological effects of the whole 'no one dies forever down here' situation, the list goes on. the worldbuilding wants to be engaged with on a mechanical level and it rewards that engagement.

deliberately airy fantasy is less common, because in a funny way it's much harder to do. people tend to like explanations. it takes skill to pull off "the world is this way because I said so." Narnia manages: these kids fall into a magic world through the back of a wardrobe, befriend talking beavers who drink tea, get weapons from Santa Claus, dance with Bacchus and his maenads, and sail to the edge of the world, without ever breaking suspension of disbelief. it works because every new thing that happens fits the vibes. it's all just vibes! engaging with the worldbuilding on a mechanical level wouldn't just be futile, it'd be missing the point entirely.

the reason I started off calling this aesthetic-based is that an airy story will usually lean hard on an existing aesthetic, ideally one that's widely known by the target audience. Lewis was drawing on fables, fairy tales, myths, children's stories, and the vague idea of ~medieval europe~ that is to this day our most generic fantasy setting. when a prince falls in love with a fallen star, when there are giants who welcome lost children warmly and fatten them up for the feast, it all fits because these are things we'd expect to find in this story. none of this jars against what we've already seen.

and the point of it is to be wondrous and whimsical, to set the tone for the story Lewis wants to tell. and it does a great job! the airy worldbuilding serves the purposes of the story, and it's no less elegant than Ryōko Kui's elaborately grounded dungeon. neither kind of worldbuilding is better than the other.

however.

you do have to know which one you're doing.

the whole reason I'm writing this is that I saw yet another long, entertaining post dragging GRRM for absolute filth. asoiaf is a fun one because on some axes it's pretty grounded (political fuck-around-and-find-out, rumors spread farther than fact, fastest way to lose a war is to let your people starve, etc), but on others it's entirely airy (some people have magic Just Cause, the various peoples are each based on an aesthetic/stereotype/cliché with no real thought to how they influence each other as neighbors, the super-long seasons have no effect on ecology, etc).

and again! none of this is actually bad! (well ok some of those stereotypes are quite bigoted. but other than that this isn't bad.) there's nothing wrong with the season thing being there to highlight how the nobles are focused on short-sighted wars for power instead of storing up resources for the extremely dangerous and inevitable winter, that's a nice allegory, and the looming threat of many harsh years set the narrative tone. and you can always mix and match airy and grounded worldbuilding – everyone does it, frankly it's a necessity, because sooner or later the answer to every worldbuilding question is "because the author wanted it to be that way." the only completely grounded writing is nonfiction.

the problem is when you pretend that your entirely airy worldbuilding is actually super duper grounded. like, for instance, claiming that your vibes-based depiction of Medieval Europe (Gritty Edition) is completely historical, and then never even showing anyone spinning. or sniffing dismissively at Tolkien for not detailing Aragorn's tax policy, and then never addressing how a pre-industrial grain-based agricultural society is going years without harvesting any crops. (stored grain goes bad! you can't even mouse-proof your silos, how are you going to deal with mold?) and the list goes on.

the man went up on national television and invited us to engage with his worldbuilding mechanically, and then if you actually do that, it shatters like spun sugar under the pressure. doesn't he realize that's not the part of the story that's load-bearing! he should've directed our focus to the political machinations and extensive trope deconstruction, not the handwavey bit.

point is, as a fantasy writer there will always be some amount of your worldbuilding that boils down to 'because I said so,' and there's nothing wrong with that. nor is there anything wrong with making that your whole thing – airy worldbuilding can be beautiful and inspiring. but you have to be aware of what you're doing, because if you ask your readers to engage with the worldbuilding in gritty mechanical detail, you had better have some actual mechanics to show them.

[rainintheevening]

Envoys to Archenland

Rumours and stories had already come trickling and flying over the passes to Anvard, mostly through the Narnians who had once fled the Witch’s winter.

But still it was a surprise when a page came into breakfast with a letter of introduction from:

"Sir Renard and the raven Carrisol, Envoys of Their Majesties the Kings and Queens of Narnia."

King Lune raised his eyebrows at his wife. "Kings and queens? Whatever can they mean?"

"What sort of person is this Sir Renard?" Queen Celeste asked the page boy, still standing by the table.

"He is a fox, your majesty."

A fox he certainly was, when they met him in the throne room an hour later. Sleek and ruddy, keen eyes that surveyed the room, and a confident tilt to his head. The raven hopped beside him, as they both came forward and bowed.

"Your majesties," said the fox, "we come to you in Archenland as envoys sent from Narnia, from the High King Peter, the Queen Susan, the King Edmund, and the Queen Lucy."

"We come in peace and friendship," continued the raven, his croaking voice echoing in the high ceiling, "with hope for the renewal of old treaties, and the return of the goodwill that had long existed between our lands."

"So it is true then!" Queen Celeste leaned forward, her excitement drawing a smile from the king. "The Witch’s reign has ended and the winter is over?"

"Indeed, your majesty." Sir Renard smiled, white teeth gleaming. "Slain by Aslan Himself."

Just the name 'Aslan' caused a thrill to run through the room, and King Lune's heart beat quicker in his breast.

"It was He who called the Four from the Worlds Beyond, and crowned them Lords and Ladies of Cair Paravel, jewel above the eastern sea."

Carrisol hopped in place twice, excitement getting the better of him. "When Aslan bares His teeth, winter meets it's death! So it was written on the High King’s sword, and so it is! This, your majesties, is the age of restoration!"

"Astonishing," Queen Celeste murmured. "Can anyone here recall a time before the reign of the White Witch?"

"A hundred years, and the curse broken." King Lune shook his head in wonderment. He himself had only just reached 30, and his father had died not five years prior having seen less than 80 years. Lune had never visited Narnia, only heard the terrible stories from a handful of Narnian creatures who had escaped to join the Archen court.

"And so in peace and friendship we welcome you," he said aloud. "We will hear the whole story at luncheon, if you will take it with us."

"Certainly, your majesties." Both fox and raven bowed low.

"But briefly." Queen Celeste leaned forward, curiosity getting the better of her. "These kings and queens. There are four of them you said? How is this possible? Who are they? What are they like?"

A laugh from the fox, quickly stifled by a swift peck from the raven.

"Ah, pardon, your highness." Sir Renard regained his dignity with a quick shake of his body. "They are brothers and sisters, called from another world into this land to sit in the four thrones at Cair Paravel, and rule us by Aslan's decree."

"But what are they like?"

King Lune did not try to hide his own smile, but he too was eager for a clearer picture of these new monarchs.

Renard and Carrisol looked at one another for a moment, before the raven tilted his head.

"You have known them since the first days, Renard."

The fox sat back on his haunches, thoughtful. "They are young, your majesties. The eldest has seen but sixteen winters. They are not royalty in their own world, and have a lot to learn of rulership and courtly business. As do we all," he added, with a rueful grin. "So we learn together. And truly these half-grown cubs are... extraordinary.

"The High King Peter is a fierce protector, brave and quick to act. His heart is great, his sight is keen, and his sword is sharp. Even in these few months, he has loved us and our land with his sweat and his blood and his tears. He is one I would follow into the very fires of the Underworld."

"So would we all!" croaked Carrisol fervently.

"The Queen Susan, now," Renard went on. "Gentle Aslan called her, and gentle her hands can be. She is the motherly one, making sure all are heard and cared for, and very much the mistress of the castle. But she has no little skill with a bow, and does not hesitate to defend her family when her gentle words have failed."

He fell quiet then, eyes cast down for long enough to cause unease to creep into the room, but he raised his head as Queen Celeste drew in her breath to speak.

"His Majesty, King Edmund is wise beyond his years, swift to see that which is not shown, and hear that which is not said. His story is his own to tell, but I can say that though he followed after the Witch in the first days of their coming to Narnia, he learned the error of his way, and was restored by Aslan, showing great bravery in the Battle of Beruna against the Witch. He is his brother's beloved right hand, and shows mercy in ways I do not think I ever could. He too would I follow wherever he might ask."

There was something in the fox's tone that Celeste could not understand, something suggestive of far more than was said. But her heart squeezed with sympathy for a boy gone astray and brought back. She wondered who their parents were, and if they still lived in that other world.

"As for our Queen Lucy," and Renard's voice lightened, "why her laughter makes the trees dance. She is small, but strong in hope. She is like a light, and she brings healing wherever she goes. She cares for all, even the smallest, most forgotten creatures, and all love her in return."

"Indeed we do!" agreed Carrisol.

"They do sound extraordinary," said King Lune after a respectful pause. "We look forward to hearing more at the noon hour."

"Indeed, your majesties." Both bowed low again. "King Lune, Queen Celeste."

As they were shown out of the audience chamber to rejoin their centaur escorts in the courtyard, the raven Carrisol was heard to remark, "Very nice, decent people they are."

And Sir Renard answered, "Indeed. I think the Four will be very glad to know them."