#master of shadow

I have a few ideas for a couple, boils down to:

Karlof oversees Metalonia, which i think of as more of a different province of Ninjago

Turner mostly looks after extremely rural and far apart areas because speed = able to react to danger in a larger radius

Tox I have decided is sciency, in the chemistry way, the medical way, I haven't decided, but I do know she loves carnivorous plants

Neuro keeps a low profile as an Elemental Master, but he works largely as a psychologist (I have decided criminal but reconsidering)

Chamille does a ton of spying for anyone who will pay her

Bolobo is of course, an environmentalist, but in the violent way

Shade mostly keeps his eye on the criminal underworld, dealing with large organised crime as opposed to the disorganised crime that the police deal with.

So of course, being a Shade Enjoyer, I was like "what if the elemental masters of shadow mainly did that and were ostracised for it because everyone else thought they were more criminals?" so here we go, basically shade's upbringing with his sister.

After 50 years: finally uploading my piece for the @ninjago-zine-of-elements! Featuring our mysterious Master of Shadow in grueling combat with a Serpentine. What's she using her power to do here? That's up to you to decide.

I just finished reading the first trilogy in "The War of Light and Shadow" by Janny Wurts.

Despite being warned that the forces of light versus forces of shadow do not equal good versus evil (and that was one of the reasons I wanted to read this series despite the title), I still had hope that one of the characters could redeem themselves, since both of the brothers were maneuvred into their positions.

The author favors one side, of course, since despite the atrocities and genocide, our Arethon has the gift of empathy. Throughout book two I still extended my sympathy to Lysaer and rooted for the half brothers to get right, because the gift of justice that Lysaer demonstrated in the first chapters was still imprinted in my mind as his strong trait, but book three broke any expectations and now I just keep reading to see the day Lysaer dies a painful death. But who knows, there are still six books to go!

Another character grew a lot, which I already expected, but it was still delightful to read. The Arithon-Dakar pair is central to the whole story and their relationship is the most interesting and hilarious to follow.

The Fellowship Sorcerers and their neutrality piss me off, there's a bloody war going on and they still don't get involved.

The intricate world of Athera, full of political conflicts, mysteries, old traditions and its landscapes are impeccably described, the daily struggles of the common people seem authentic and realistic, this all interspersed with the action scenes and the introspection of Lysaer and Arithon takes the plot step developed very slowly, but at no point (except in the Lysaer's delusions of grandeur) did it bother me.

4 out of 5 stars was my average for the 3 books.