Preptober Prompts Week 3 Day 1 – 2018
*blinks at prompt* Is there any possible way I can make this not repetitive…
The only way I can think to not emphasize Coraline’s intense love of apples is to answer this for Ismena instead, so we’re gonna do that. Ismena is the second main character in The King’s Paladin, and likely a second POV character. She’s the princess of Mandoria, and she’s fully prepared to be queen when the time comes.
Ismena doesn’t much care for fall weather, due to the cold, but she appreciates the colors and the festivities that come with it. As for traditions, there are three large festivals in the fall, one for each month: Veshalla, honoring the god and goddess of messages and travel; Dalhalla, which both honors the god and goddess of death and is spent honoring and remembering the dead (i.e. more of a Dia De Los Muertos than a Halloween); and Kalinhalla, which honors the god and goddess of the sun. As princess and Lankadian (meaning she believes in the pantheon), Ismena participates in the festivities for all three holidays. While she most enjoys Kalinhalla, Dalhalla means the most to her since her mother died.
Ismena and her father, Shordin, spend the day of Dalhalla remembering all of their fallen family and friends, but Ismena primarily remembers her mother during this time, which makes it both a hard and a joyful occasion for her. Ismena was nine when her mother died, so she has plenty of good memories of them together, but it’s always difficult for her to focus on the joy of those moments when the pain of losing her mother is so sharp in her mind and she lives every day without her. The closest thing she has to a mother figure now is her maid, Dara, but continual comparison of the two keeps Ismena painfully aware of their differences and the things she misses without her mother.
I guess Mandorians don’t really celebrate fall as a season, lol. They tend to be more excited for spring, when everything starts to grow and come alive again.
Do your characters celebrate fall? Don’t forget to read Leila’s original post on the prompt!