History Headscratchers / HeraldsofValdemar

** This Troper believes that the Arrows trilogy was one of the first Valdemar books published. It's possible that the 'rules' of the world weren't quite worked out all the way by then.

* What is the overlap between By The Sword and the Exile Duology? I've been trying to work out the bit where Karathanelan of Rethwallan is killed while trying to control Selenay (later his death is explained as a hunting accident to ease his brother Faramentha in Valor. His father has been dead some time) verus By the Sword - Karathanelan dies, and it is known immediately what he did and his father dies of heart failure by this shock and his brother Faramentha becomes king.

* What is the overlap between By The Sword and the Exile Duology? I've been trying to work out the bit where Karathanelan of Rethwallan is murdered while trying to control Selenay (later his death is explained as a hunting accident to ease his father in Valor) verus By the Sword - Karathanelan dies, and it is known immediately what he did and his father dies of heart failure by this shock

* In the Black Gryphon, I feel rather shocked at the lack of actual ability associated with Skandranon throughout the book. Either he is building up someone else to insane levels-usually Zhaneel who has reason to be due to earlier lacking self-esteem and confidence, but perhaps too much since she just accepts giving Skan the boot in the rear from Amberdrake-or just sitting around. When he gets back into combat, he's nearly a ButtMonkey; captured in a net, and then enters a freefall so that Zhaneel can get the kill. He barely seems to do anything as the incredible soldier and black-ops gryphon we expect in the story except for the first bit, and that doesn't feel right. It is essentially InformedAbility.

* In ''Magic's Promise'', Vanyel is speaking with Yfandes about Randale's coronation, and about his fears with Shavri being chosen by Taver, specifically why Rolan chose a Healer, and his (correct) guess that Randale's sterility is a sign of a worse disease to come. He confesses to Yfandes that he was worried Rolan would choose ''him''. ''How''? Vanyel is already Chosen by Yfandes. Would he have two Companions? Would Yfandes have to repudiate Vanyel and damage him similarly to how Tylendel was damaged by Gala, then have Vanyel go through what Talamir went through when Taver died? Would Yfandes die? Or would it be like in the end of the first ''Exiles'' book, with Vanyel acting as King's Own unofficially despite not having been Chosen by the King's Own Companion?

* In ''Magic's Promise'', Vanyel is speaking with Yfandes about Randale's coronation, and about his fears with Shavri being chosen by Rolan, specifically why Rolan chose a Healer, and his (correct) guess that Randale's sterility is a sign of a worse disease to come. He confesses to Yfandes that he was worried Rolan would choose ''him''. ''How''? Vanyel is already Chosen by Yfandes. Would he have two Companions? Would Yfandes have to repudiate Vanyel and damage him similarly to how Tylendel was damaged by Gala, then have Vanyel go through what Talamir went through when Taver died? Would Yfandes die? Or would it be like in the end of the first ''Exiles'' book, with Vanyel acting as King's Own unofficially despite not having been Chosen by the King's Own Companion?

** It does crop up now and then in later books. Magic's Promise has a Herald who has trouble communicating with his Companion.

* In the Black Gryphon, I feel rather shocked at the lack of actual ability associated with Skandranon throughout the book. Either he is building up someone else to insane levels-usually Zhaneel who has reason to be due to earlier lacking self-esteem and confidence, but perhaps too much since she just accepts giving Skan the boot in the rear from Amberdrake-or just sitting around. When he gets back into combat, he's nearly a ButtMonkey; captured in a net, and then enters a freefall so that Zhaneel can get the kill. He barely seems to do anything as the incredible soldier and black-ops gryphon we expect in the story except for the first bit, and that doesn't feel right. It is essentially ImpliedAbility.

** It's established that the Monarch's Own's companion can and often does choose someone who is already a Herald. IIRC, the previous companion would turn out to have only had a temporary bond to the Herald in question

* In ''Magic's Promise'', Vanyel is speaking with Yfandes about Randale's coronation, and about his fears with Shavri being chosen by Rolan, specifically why Rolan chose a Healer, and his (correct) guess that Randale's sterility is a sign of a worse disease to come. He confesses to Yfandes that he was worried Rolan would choose ''him''. ''How''? Vanyel is already Chosen by Yfandes. Would he have two Companions? Would Yfandes have to repudiate Vanyel and damage him similarly to how Tylendel was damaged by Gala, then have Vanyel go through what Talamir went through when Taver died? Would Yfandes die? Or would it be like in the end of the first ''Exiles'' book, with Vanyel acting as King's Own unofficially despite not having been Chosen by the King's Own Companion?

** By that point, the wound had probably healed enough that the stone was no longer necessary.

* This is a bit of fridge horror that comes from reading the entire series of novels for the umpteenth time. In ''Magic's Promise'', part of the ''Last Herald Mage'' trilogy, under the city of Highjorune an unstable fault, ''and'' a hole punched down to the core of the planet, being held together by a heartstone's spell, which was powered by a powerful node of magic. The horror comes into play at the end of the Mage Storms series, and the beginning of the Owl Knight series; In order to avert a second cataclysm, all the magic was channeled into the void, and spread out evenly across the world. No more nodes. So, what happened to Highjorune and the surrounding area, without any power to the spell holding it together?

* For that matter, how old is Selenay by the time she meets Prince Daren?

* So, which is it?

* What happened to Heraldic arrow-code? It was plot-critical in the "Arrows trilogy" and has never come up again. Lackey seems to have similarly dropped the "some Heralds can't Mindspeak with their Companions" hook -- now arrow-code seems to be redundant since the Companions can send messages to each other.

** There is another reason for making it a rule that you can't tell the kids on the way to Haven about what Heralds are and what they do; it keeps the kids' heads from being filled with all kinds of hearsay and gossip and misinformation from people who've never been near the Collegium in their life and are going off of old wives' tales. And yes, as mentioned above, the people who made that rule never allowed for the possibility that an inductee ''would never have been told about Companion's Choice at all''; its not something that happens that often. And there is a mention after Talia's case comes up to Selenay about 'Perhaps we should change the rules to make it easier on the next case like this'.

*** Darkwind in particular refers to Falconsbane only as "The Beast" throughout that conversation.

*** The traps are installed ''magically''; the suspect list is literally anyone who has been alone in the room for any length of time in the past year. And the actual assassin wasn't someone who installed fixtures; he was a portrait painter, who went around the Court doing sketches of people (much like the White House photographer today, only with a brush).

*** The traps are installed ''magically''; the suspect list is literally anyone who has been alone in the room for any length of time in the past year. And the actual assassin wasn't someone who installed fictures; he was a portrait painter.

** It's strongly implied in the same novel that children in the Kingdom are supposed to be taught about Heralds and Companions -- the fact that the Holderkin don't is a sign that they are a backward, isolationist, prejudiced bunch. As for the rest, it's like the difference between knowing what police officers are and knowing how to ''become'' a police officer. If all police were people who had been selected by sentient police cars in their early teens, it would make sense for others to say "we'll help you, but you need to wait until you get to the station to explain everything -- the car knows what to do, and if we try to explain now it would only make you feel more overwhelmed."

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