In case any of you missed a day of my Facebook Thanksgiving Cadaeren Countdown, or want to see what the characters from The Quest of the Unaligned are thankful for all in one place, here’s the entire list. Enjoy!
High Guardian Ruahklon:
“I am grateful for the breath of fresh air that is the next generation of Cadaeren’s leadership. Brave, enthusiastic, and eager to go where the winds of the future are blowing, Prince Alaric and those he touches – including my apprentice Naruahn! – will take good care of our beloved country after we have moved on. And for that I thank the Balance.”
Baretz:
“Every day I see new things to be thankful for. Today, crisp apples fresh from the trees. A good harvest. The smell of fall and the feeling of the earth preparing to rest.
“But more important than these are the people who are my life. My lovely wife and precious daughter. Our neighbors and friends. The wise leadership of Lord Deshamai, who keeps us safe and cares for us all. And the ability to give back to them in a way that brings health and wellbeing to our community. I am thankful for that.”
Lord Deshamai:
“For what am I thankful? The list is long, indeed, but it can be summed up in the single item: Cadaeren’s Maintained Tradition of Balance.
“For eight hundred years, our land has prospered because its nobles have maintained the practices taught to them by their fathers, and their fathers, and theirs. All that we have is given to us because our ancestors fulfilled their duties and taught the next generation to do the same, while recording their own successes and failures so that future generations could learn from them.
“My lands, my people, my responsibilities, my privileges, have all been passed down to me because of our traditions of Balance, as have been the ways in which I am expected to care for my lands and people, to carry out my responsibilities, and to use my privileges. Because of our traditions of Balance, I know that Cadaeren, my people, and my household will prosper for generations to come.”
King Kethel and Queen Tathilya:
Kethel: “Why, I’m thankful that I’m king! With the power of the Balance at my command, my life is never boring! Everyone else’s lives must be so…so…non-regal and powerless. Whereas I get to do new things every day! Yesterday, for instance, Tathilya and I popped over to Lord Deruahk’s new castle, just for fun. He was so surprised to see us, but who doesn’t like surprises? Enjoy life while you can. That’s this king’s motto.”
Tathilya: “Well, I’m thankful that I’m queen, of course, but also for the lovely people that are here at court to make our lives better. I just don’t know what I would do without my ladies in waiting, and my seamstresses, and that wonderful cook you hired last month, Kethel – have you tried his new raisin tart? It’s to die for – and the people who plan our balls, and the ones who come and sing and dance for us.
“Oh, and I’m thankful that Alaric’s finally found. It was so distressing for so many years when he was lost in that horrid city. Even if he did come back with strange unbecoming ideas and that aesh peasant bride of his, he’s still here and the other nobles can stop fretting about the future.”
Naruahn:
“I’m thankful for the wind and the freshness and energy it gives you, especially when you’re out in a big open field and it just whips around you like it wants to play tag and it thinks you’re ‘it’. And I’m thankful that I’m still apprenticed to High Guardian Ruahklon and that he’s teaching me how to care for the Temple, even though it includes a lot of chores and I don’t like those.
“Oh – and I wasn’t even thinking about all the things that happened this past year that I’m thankful for! I’m really thankful that I met Prince Alaric and Princess Laeshana and that they like me and they let me come visit them in the City of Balance and that the prince made me a level one security chief, just like him, except that he’s level nine. And I’m even more thankful that he saved my life when I thought I was dead down there in those horrible caves. Wow. I have a lot to be thankful for!”
Laeshana:
“It’s amazing to think back over this past year and realize how many profound changes have occurred in my life – changes for which I’ll be forever grateful. I am so thankful for Alaric, the most wonderful, princely man I know, and for the privilege of being his wife.
“I’m also still amazed at the gift he gave me, the knowledge and power for good that I’ve always dreamed of. I am so thankful to be in a position where I’ll be able to influence my country for good, to continue to learn and serve without restrictions or discrimination, and to explore the nature of magic itself and better understand the world in which we live. There are many other things I’m thankful for, of course, but those are the two big ones. Alaric, and Light.”
Alaric:
“Like Laeshana said, so much has changed in my life this past year that I’m grateful for, I don’t even know where to start. I’m a prince! With magical powers! A year ago my life’s ambitions were to someday be in charge of a sector of Tonzimmelian security. Now, I know that I’m going to be responsible for the security of an entire country someday. How many people get to say that? I’m just thankful for the opportunity to do something meaningful with my life.
“I’m also thankful for the people who have brought me to where I am today. My educators in Tonzimmel, who taught me how to be a security chief. Naruahn, who taught me how to be a prince. And most of all, Laeshana, who taught me how to be a whole person. To be honest, the thing I’m most thankful for in this past year is that she agreed to marry me. And I think that will remain the thing I’m most thankful for for the rest of my life.”