How would you tell the story of your life? Would you speak of your embaresment or strife? What about the people around you? How would the tale differ if it were one of them that spoke of what they knew? Might they glorify or vilify what is percieved as true?
This time-bending, world-altering tale of secrets both uncovered and buried, doubt of oneself and others, enduring confidence in the same, mistakes and luck, grit that inspires, and above all, love extends as far as you are willing to explore.
How would you tell the story of your life? Would you speak of your embaresment or strife? What about the people around you? How would the tale differ if it were one of them that spoke of what they knew? Might they glorify or vilify what is percieved as true?
This time-bending, world-altering tale of secrets both uncovered and buried, doubt of oneself and others, enduring confidence in the same, mistakes and luck, grit that inspires, and above all, love extends as far as you are willing to explore.
THIS IS THE STORY of a long, long time. A story that I have dared to tell. But truth be told, I wasnât sure where to start, and I found it hard to write. So much has happened. There are things that I want to recognize clearly, but the words I need elude me and the words I have, well, they just arenât enough to describe what this story, our story, means to me.
Good afternoon, my Ladies and Sirs, friends, family, Masters, and especially, my fine fellow peers. Long traditions have us gathered here and have me standing before you to present you with an eloquent summary of that which has brought us here. Nevertheless, I am afraid that I cannot, in good conscience, attempt to uphold such long-standing expectations, for it dawned on me early on in the process of preparing this speech that I cannot tell our story Truly. To do that would require knowledge of every perspective on every moment that has passed. So I must tell the story as I can, but where to start? Yes, I could start at the beginning, or rather, what I perceive to be the beginning. Then again, I could start with a key moment, one that gave me a better understanding of who we are as storytellers and story characters, tradition makers, and tradition changers.
Such a story as ours, having certain details forgotten by some while remembered by others, and certain details that are more important to some than they are to others, is indeed a difficult thing to summarize, even if I alone were not tasked with the responsibility but could share it with all those that had a hand in the story. Nay, the legend. For what has passed between us is not a made-up thing as a story is, nor can any detail be wholly agreed upon as absolutely True.
So then, how might I best convey our legend? As I thought of all that I have learned, I worried over what, in those moments, I might have missed. Then it struck me. Legends are born in part from what was missed. They begin as truths or rather the parts of truths the conveyor can obtain. Then they grow with the addition of stories to fill in the gaps for the missing parts of truth, and they grow again as the stories change with each new teller. Yet, as the stories and truths change with each new telling, in a way they are still the same.
Even as I try to summarize all that we have done, I cannot predict how each of you will tell our legend tomorrow. But at least allow me to give you a draft that may stay in your hearts even if you tell it differently on the morrow.
With that said, rather than greeting you simply as peers and Masters and loved ones, today I say: good afternoon, my fellow story-tellers, legend-tellers, and legend-makers. My name is Victoria Juliet Rose, and as your chosen speaker, I would like to start off by thanking you all for a job well done. It is by the love and determination of everyone here that my fellows and I have gotten to this point in life. I never thought Iâd ever be more nervous than the day I found out I was moving to this town, but then a few cycles back, I was told Iâd have to give this speech.
Despite my reservations about standing before you, I wanted to try and persevere the same way I have seen so many of you persevere. It is my sincere wish to give you a speech worth every moment you have put into getting here. By relying on the memories I have collected since moving here as my inspiration, I came up with these words to leave you with: Today is the beginning and the end of a long journey, the day we realize that even in these seemingly short years, we have created a legend of a long, long time.
It is a day for us to celebrate what we have accomplished, to cry because it is done, and to smile because it is done, and we did it. It is also a day to celebrate the beginning of a new journey. Another part of each of our own legends.
It will not be easy. There will be times when the urge to turn back might stop the progress onward, but I believe that our ways will take us to great places. So long as we can take steps we can be proud of, each of us may find our own prosperity.
Just as the phoenix rises from the ashes of despair to soar, so shall we rise to the challenge of the Great Search, bringing with us the legends of how weâve come. I wish you all the best until our ways cross again, and when that day comes, I look forward to telling you the legend of me and hearing the legend of you.
Spoilers: One thing that can't be denied is that Lori Rea worked hard on her Science Fiction Fantasy novel, Legends of Us: The Legend of The Soul Guardian. The initial idea and her lead protagonist, Amber Rose, have been on her mind for years. She fine tuned her book and based many characters on people that she knew. She created the familial relationship, the political structure, and the language of the fictitious world of Vilroh. I know all of this because the book has occasional âBreak Roomâ chapters inserted throughout the book that describes her writing process.
Some may find the âBreak Roomâ chapters as congratulatory or distracting but for Science Fiction and Fantasy authors who have an epic imaginary world that they want to share with others, they are a valuable educational experience. Rea gives her personal experience and offers her novel as the final document of her journey. And it is quite a document indeed.
While far from perfect, Legends of Us certainly benefits from its author's attention to detail in building the world and characters, particularly in its lead protagonist.
Amber Roseâs parents were killed in a fire and she was separated from her friends and family, particularly her sister, Victoria. She is raised in exile and is trained to become an adept warrior. She reunites with some friends and they strive to keep her real identity a secret. She lives under the assumed name of Juliet. But forging a different identity is easier said than done when Amber encounters jealous colleagues, concerned relatives, feuding enemies, and twisted secrets that could alter the new relationships that she is trying to build.
Reaâs details are well constructed. She put a lot of thought into the world of Vilroh including the history, social structures, and other information. Families are large and multigenerational. Some families have long standing feuds. Adults are referred to as âMasterâ and âLady.â There is a military presence that resorts to extreme violent tendencies to meet their goals. The details make us understand the thought that went into creating this book.
One of the early chapters is a prime example of Reaâs creativity. Amber is still an infant but her extended family including her sister, cousins, aunt, and uncle speak in an original language which looks like a composite of words from various other languages, slang terms, and pidgin dialect. For example âDu sollest haben sayertanâ means âYou should have awoken me.â
It's a clever contribution to Reaâs fertile imagination but gods is it ever hard to follow when several characters have long conversations consisting solely of this dialect. Thankfully there's a helpful glossary at the beginning of this book.
Besides world building Rea excels in writing richly developed characters. Nowhere is this more evident than with the lead, Amber. She is a complex and often contradictory character that goes through many changes.
We see her originally as a sheltered flighty young girl from an upper class environment. She has her usual teen hang ups and urges but mostly she is immensely proud of her older sister, Victoria's academic successes. It seems like she was destined to follow her sister's path.
The next time we see Amber, after her kidnapping and parent's death, she is a hardened commando who can efficiently do away with someone before treating her own wounds. She is not the sweet innocent girl that we met before. Instead, she is a sardonic tough badass who captivates those that she meets and inspires gossip and speculation.
Amber is a cypher to those around her especially as she assumes the "Juliet" alias. Despite her hardened professionalism born through years of imprisonment, abuse, and survival instincts, Amber demonstrates the difficulties of living under an assumed name. It can be difficult to remember to answer to that name, especially when she is around people who knew her as Amber.
She also has to create various deceptions to uphold her new identity and avoid or fight against nefarious people that she doesn't want to recognize her. At times she questions who Amber really is.
Amber isn't the only one questioning her identity. Other characters offer their opinions on this woman. Some see her as a fragile innocent who needs protecting. Others see her as a master manipulator. Others see a deeply wounded broken bird hurt by the world's mistreatment. Others see her as an avatar of death and destruction. Many of her cousins see the girl that she used to be and maintain their friendship and loyalty to her.
The secret is that Amber is all of these and more. She is a layered personality that alters between loving and fury, vulnerable and strong, cunning and empathetic, traumatized and defiant, a good friend and a feared enemy. She can't be placed into one category and moves through all of them.
Amber is the best aspect of the book that can be lost in its complexities. Legends of Us is not an easy read. In fact, this reader had to reread it twice and the opening one more time to make sure that she got it. It's worth it because of the detail but it's also too easy to become lost in the plot and multiple characters surrounding it.
These are large families where characters are related either by blood, marriage, or are involved through romance or friendship. There are character guides spread throughout the book and a family tree at the beginning that focuses on each character and that helps. But there are a lot of names and long names with plenty of middle and family names at that. Even with the character guide, it's all too easy to get tangled up by the relatives and hard to keep track of who is related to whom.
There are plot points that are confusing. There is a love triangle that is never resolved. One character seems to be in love with Amber and her missing sister. Amber at one point has an eerie telepathic conversation with a rival that could lead to friendship and understanding but the rival later continues to warn her boyfriend and friends about Amber's questionable intentions.
Perhaps it could use some trimming and certainty or maybe the Reader just needs to read it again. Despite the convoluted plot, the book excels because of Amber and the world in which she lives.
Legends of Usâ title comes from a line where Amber says that people create their own legends by their stories and experiences. In truth, Amber is her own legend and Rea's as well.