Dragonfly-kinden : Shadows of the Apt

Dragonfly-kinden

Art by David Mumford

The great and insular Dragonfly Commonweal, the Lowlands’ northern neighbour, has been declining for centuries, unable to sustain order and peace across its many principalities. A state already tottering has been left in ruins after a twelve-year campaign by the Wasp Empire. With thousands dead in battle and thousands more enslaved, still the Commonweal seems unable to muster any response, and individual princes, dissatisfied with the Monarch’s inaction, try to conduct their own war against the Empire by assisting the Lowlanders to the south.

Posted by Adrian Tchaikovsky on June 27th, 2008

Posted in Art, Kinden

Tags: dragonflies, History

9 Comments

9 comments to “Dragonfly-kinden”

joe, July 27th, 2010 at 12:27 am:

I was wondering, does the commonweal get more involved as the stories grow??
Adrian Tchaikovsky, July 28th, 2010 at 8:18 pm:

Aside from the brief flying visit Stenwold makes in Salute the Dark, the bulk of book 7 will be set in the Commonweal, both the free and the occupied sections. And of course a lot of the short stories on this site are set there.
low, November 12th, 2010 at 6:23 am:

Okay so mantises (spider ,mantis half breed included) and dragonflies can become weapon masters. Is this exclusive to these two kinden?
Adrian Tchaikovsky, November 13th, 2010 at 8:19 pm:

In practice it would be very rare to find other kinden as weaponsmasters, but there's no actual reason why not — it's just that those two kinden are the only ones (that I'm currently aware of…) that maintain the tradition. A suitable applicant would simply have to be very good, Inapt, and be able to get sufficient respect/sponsorship from those that controlled the relevant initiation rites.
emperor's favor, October 19th, 2011 at 2:01 pm:

clever view!
Max Woldhek, May 20th, 2012 at 3:46 pm:

Why do prospective weaponsmasters have to be Inapt? Have there never been Ants or Beetles who have been sufficiently skilled with blades to qualify?
Adrian Tchaikovsky, May 20th, 2012 at 6:02 pm:

There is a magical element to being a Weaponsmaster, expressed in a bond between wielder and weapon, hence the Apt simply cannot become one, irrespective of skill.
Max Woldhek, May 20th, 2012 at 7:02 pm:

Ah, that would explain how Tisamon's claw and Tynisa's rapier had the tendency of teleporting into their hands. I always wondered about that.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, May 20th, 2012 at 9:29 pm:

Absolutely right 🙂

Shadows of the Apt