A Look Back: Heart of Winter

 

Oliver glanced down at the red leather cover, with its gold embossing. His stomach twisted, and it had nothing to do with his present company. “Nice bit of fiction, this,” he said, hearing the sharp edge in his voice. “You had it filed in the wrong place. I’ll put it back with the children’s stories, shall I?”

When he glanced up, Erik had his head cocked at a curious angle. “Fiction?”

“Well, there aren’t dragons in Drakewell, are there?”

“Not anymore.”

“What do you mean anymore?” he snapped. It was happening again: he was being stroppy with the king. He’d left his self-control back home in Drakewell, apparently. 

Erik didn’t react to his tone, though. His gaze narrowed, and he kept staring at him – staring right through him, a penetrating gaze that wasn’t…altogether unpleasant. “Do you really think the Drakes of Drakewell are named for ducks?”

“It’s on our banner,” Oliver said, stupidly, more than a little helpless. He felt as if the flags were tilting beneath his feet. 

One corner of Erik’s mouth flicked upward. He held out a hand. “Let me see the book.”

Oliver handed it over readily, telling himself it was only his imagination that the cover burned his fingers.

Erik paged through it a moment, nodding to himself. When he reached one of the more spectacular illustrations, one of an armored warrior astride a harnessed dragon, he lifted his head and said, “Right, so, the Drakes were dragon riders, originally.”

“No, they weren’t.”

“Yes,” Erik said, patiently. He tapped the page. “The Drakes were the only ones brave enough to settle Drakewell – it was crawling with fire-drakes. They learned to live with them – they tamed them. Rode them into battle. Most were lost in the First Great War with the Sels. The others, for whatever reason, failed to reproduce. There’s legends that a few slunk down into deep, hidden caves, and live still, waiting to be awakened by Drake descendants – but you’re from Drakewell. Surely you’ve read about this before?”

Oliver’s throat was so dry it was hard to swallow. “You’re pulling my chain,” he gritted out. “This is a joke.”

Erik spread his hands. “It’s not.” When Oliver continued to glare at him, he said, “Do you think I’m the sort who’d use children’s books if I wanted to make a fool of someone?”

He had a point. “No, I suppose you’d bludgeon them to death with a blunt sword and have done with it.”

That earned a tweak of the smile, before Erik grew serious again. “Sit down, Mr. Meacham.”

Oliver dropped down onto the bench across from him, and he was not sulky about it.

As Fortunes of War draws nearer to completion, I thought it would be fun to revisit the series from the beginning. FOW is the largest and longest of the books so far, and deals with some complex interpersonal dilemmas, mostly thanks to Leif. We learn yet more about the magic of this world, and the frightening Emperor Undying who was terrorizing Nali at the end of DOTD. It’s a big book, wrestling with big developments, but the series began much, much smaller.

By comparison, Heart of Winter is a very sweet story. I had such fun writing it, and I loved having the chance to introduce the series, and the characters, this way. The war is there - it’s the whole reason the Drakes are in Aeretoll - but it’s back burner at the moment, especially for the Northerners. The action is quieter here, with enough downtime to worry more about lingering looks and snappy retorts than mortal wounds and enemy trebuchet fire. It’s a love story, first and foremost, but one that launches an epic, continent-spanning adventure.

The series began as an antidote to the usual fantasy romantic pitfall: typically, a fantasy novel, no matter how thrilling the plot and creative the magic, treats the romantic storylines as slapdash afterthoughts. Oh yeah, by the way, these two people got married. As I slooowly work my way through the Wheel of Time saga (started it eons ago and never finished, so I’m determined to read the whole dang thing, finally) I can’t help but scratch my head over the romances. Two characters meet one another ONCE, and five books later opine about their deep love. Instead, The Drake Chronicles are a romance series that doesn’t skimp on the fantasy elements. 

It’s also the sort of fantasy series in which magic is returning to the world, as opposed to fading. HOW has been accused of being “not a fantasy book at all,” and anyone who stopped reading there missed the dragons, the animated skeletons, skinwalkers, and dream walking. *shrugs* It’s most definitely a fantasy. It’s also not a series about just one character or just one couple. The focus shifts from group to group, as the story necessitates. Leif and Amelia (and Ragnar) get the lion’s share of page time in FOW, but all the others still have very important parts to play. It’s an ongoing, big story, rather than a chain of standalones. 

As far as faves go, I typically latch on to guilty pleasure picks, and boy do I love Nali and Ragnar here. But my favorite Drake Chronicles character is Oliver. I love his journey. I love that he’s stubborn, and chafes under Erik’s imperious demeanor starts first. I love that he finds a place for himself, coming into his own in his new role. From bastard to dragon rider. There’s so much in store for him in the books ahead. 

FOW is coming soon! If you like family dramas draped in dragon magic, with plenty of romance, start the series with book one.