Author's Commentary on Somewhere Else Entirely: Chapters 23 to 26

Garia gets back to business and then receives her first major test.

There isn't too much in these chapters that required major attention.

Chapter 23, Bells and Black Rock

Garia is still recovering from her unexpected bodily function but still manages to find out more interesting things.

Unfinished business

Throughout this tale there are a number of dangling threads, from ideas which I thought might bear investigation but which were either forgotten in the flow or turned out to be not such a good idea. One such is the discovery of "odd items" in the clear-out of what will become The Self Defense Training Room. I had an idea that maybe something from Earth might turn up, or maybe a weapon from some distant enemy that the locals didn't even recognize as a weapon - but Garia might.

In the event that didn't happen but there are still odd threads like that left through the story. I decided that these shouldn't cause the average reader too much difficulty. In a closely-plotted story most of these would be either eliminated or resolved. Real Life isn't like that, and I wanted to make this story reflect the vagaries of what really happens as life goes along.

Lady and Milady

I made a slight mistake here which I ended up repeating throughout the whole story. The correct title for a noblewoman of the lowest rank is Lady and she should always be referred to that way when being introduced. Milady is a contraction of My Lady and is usually used in direct address once the speaker has been formally introduced.

I am correcting these as I go through the chapters which means that some of the conversations will have a slightly different flavor. This should not detract from the overall tone of the story, though.

Coal

With regard to the Industrial Revolution, coal is such an important item that it had to be introduced early in the process. What I hadn't realized was just how central it would become to the whole story. At this point I hadn't even sketched out any journey to the north so the significance of coal at this point was very small.

Chapter 24, Back to Business

There are surprises for all as Garia appears wearing her new exercise gear. I had not especially decided that her tunic and skirt would be the colors of the guard but that turned out to be a useful plot point in this and subsequent chapters.

Bodily Contact

This is the first time Garia and Keren have been in physical contact since her period and the additional hormones, now in full flow, make an uncomfortable change to the way they interact. This is really the first time that the two discover a physical attraction for one another, even if it hasn't become emotional yet.

Chapter 25, Beastly Encounter

I had always intended this encounter and the following fight, but in practice it occurred a little sooner than I would have preferred. On the other hand, it fitted in nicely with everything else that was happening and produced a demonstration which fundamentally changes the relationship between Garia and the Palace. Up until this point she has just been a stranger full of ideas but after the fight she really becomes one of the Royal Family, even if only adopted.

The Korond Gown

This is the gown 'lent' to Garia when she first arrives in the city. She wears it again here and then all mention of it goes quiet. This is another of those loose ends mentioned above. I do believe that it is subsequently described as being cleaned and then returned. There is no real significance in what happens to it, save that it caused a loose end.

Korond himself was only intended to be a casual mention in chapter 3. I was surprised and gratified to discover, much later, that his establishment would receive another visit, for very different reasons.

Chapter 26, A Matter of Honor

I had to choreograph two fights here, the first a verbal one at the breakfast table and then the physical one in the Large Training Room. The first was actually harder here because it was necessary to maneuvre everybody around to the consequence I wanted, which was that Jarwin would somehow throw down a challenge to Garia, thus giving her the choice of weapons.

Jarwin uses the word cow here, and one or two readers have questioned it. However, milk appears to be available in Palarand and therefore at least one kind of mammal must produce it. I have carefully not explained the exact details of the origin of local milk but I think the use of the word cow is permissible.

I had forgotten, even while writing this chapter, that in this society no man would ever challenge a woman, and so it was also necessary to twist things in order to get the right result. Fortunately for me and for the story, Jarwin did all that I asked of him.

The physical fight went off more or less as expected. I did have some trouble figuring out Garia's and Jarwin's lefts and rights and I have made some tiny adjustments here. Otherwise I think things resolved themselves as expected. Garia is no Mary Sue, she suffers injuries like any other 15 year-old Anmarian girl would.