Reading Response #3

After the rescue of Ainsy’s uncle (Tomtin) everything begins to go back to normal. However, the author does not let this continue. Instead of making the story full of happiness like most readers enjoy, Charles throws another curveball. A gathering occurs in a town a fair bit off, but the center of attention is Kern’s enemy, a harper. He seizes the opportunity to go with the inn-dwellers to this magical event. He seeks to get even by destroying the harper, thus bringing peace to the land again. At first the author gives the reader with the allusion that the harper does not recognize Kern. “He passed over Kern without a flicker of recognition. He saw me only in wolfshape, Kern thought. Why should he recognize me now as a man? Perhaps i’m still safe and the secret’s mine alone.”[110] The harper continued throughout the evening, until he started to tell a tale. “Listen, and I will tell you the tale of Tascar, the Wehr-wulf. Now his eyes were for Kern alone. They impaled him with their strength of will, stripped the manflesh to bare the wolf inside.”[112] Through these lines I found that this “harper” was a very magical foe. It would only be through determination and strength that Kern could stand up against such a thing. The author indicates that Kern must make a decision. He must rise to face the harper before time is out, or there could be a much different fate. “But as he stabled the horse and made his way into the inn, another concern rose in him. What if the harper struck at him through Ainsy or one of the others? He’d kept that fear at the back of his mind, but standing in the courtyard, feeling the close warmth of the inn and its occupants all around him, it surfaced stronger than ever. Must he go? Could he risk their lives by staying? [118] As said, this is one of the inner pressures Kern faces. He almost can see the future, but has no idea how to stop the onslaught. However, before Kern can make his move, the conflict is brought to his inn. His thought we’re correct that the harper would strike at him through his Ainsy. The harper uses his charm and persuasiveness to control Ainsy . “When I first saw you at the foxfire, I knew I must know you better.”[136] Kern’s inner struggle would continue, and it would only be when the harper was vanquished that his love would return. He words meant nothing, as long as the harper was around. Charles continues the story with tensions growing deeper between Kern and the harper, only one would win in the end. The conflict arising between these two very magical characters prompted me to continue painting the imagery.