Bromance & The Band -of-Brothers in "Daughter of Blood" by Helen Lowe

A classic theme for '23

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Phew, made it to December 1 and the final post in m'2023 blog series -- and with three weeks in hand until the full festive-palooza kicks in! Awesome: high fives all round!!

For the past few years I've been blogging to a theme and this year's has been the "band of brothers" trope in fantasy fiction, right alongside it's joined-at-the-hip sibling, the bromance. (The full list of posts, with direct-link-goodness included, is at the end of this post.)

Currently, I'm rounding up the theme with a closer look at both bands-of-brothers and bromance in m'own The Wall Of Night fantasy series. Today, for the final post, the spotlight's on Book #3, Daughter of Blood.

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Bromance & the Band-of-Brothers in Daughter of Blood

Last month, I asserted that Book #2, The Gathering of the Lost was "band-of-brothers central", an assertion I reiterate in respect of #3 Daughter of Blood. Only in this case, bromance is definitely part of the mix as well.

Kalan in the Red Keep

The central character in this respect is Kalan, one of the series' two main characters. (The other is Malian, the Heir of Night, but she is far more of a loner.) In the first part of the story, he competes in a grand tourney to select an honor guard for Myr, the Daughter of Blood of the title. 

The tournament not only comprises feats of arms, it's also rife with plots, politicking, and skulduggery. As an unaligned stranger in this mix, Kalan must find warriors of like mind to guard his back -- thus his first 'band', which as well as three adult warriors (Bajan, Taly, and Dab) comprises two pages (Faro and Liy) and the castle's pack of wyr (magical) hounds. 

(Using 'brothers' in a very loose and all-encompassing sense, needless to say -- as has been the case throughout. :-) )

Garan and His 'Merry Eight'

The story's second band, operating independently of Kalan, Malian, and their adventures, is more of a "happy few." A Night soldier called Garan, with his eight-unit (the foundational military unit in the world's armies) shift from what they call "nursemaid duty", escorting non-combatants, to a hunt for a missing person. 

Readers have met Garan and his eight before, but they come more fully into the picture in Daughter of Blood, where their experience and camaraderie is the glue that holds their part of the story together.

Kalan and the Bridal Caravan Assault

Following the Red Keep tourney, Kalan and eight exiled House of Blood warriors, together with thirteen of the Red Keep wyr hounds, must defend a bridal caravan--and the bride--from an unexpected attack. The odds are against them, but they team up with a Sea envoy's marine* escort, to form the nucleus of the caravan's defense. 

Again, it's all about brotherhood and shield-walls, this time in dire circumstances -- a brotherhood that's unexpectedly expanded when a prince of the House of Stars, together with his honor guard, join the defense: 

"The two commanders grasped each other’s forearms in the traditional greeting between warriors and equals, before the Stars leader bowed, demonstrating that he possessed his House's traditional grace as well as its glamor. Both drawl and smile were back in place as he regarded Kalan. “We are yours to command, my brother.”

The sharp-eyed among you may spot bromance. And you would be right! The alignment between Kalan and the Star prince is crucial in the events that follow -- just as the band-of-brothers is integral to the weft and warp of the Daughter of Blood story.

Conclusion

And that's it for 2023, my friends. Enjoy the holiday season -- and see you on the other side, in 2024! 

* Note: "marine" in its original sense of "solders-that-fight-on-ships", as opposed to various specific marine corps that currently exist -- a distinction discussed here: Sea House Marines in The Wall Of Night series.

Previous Posts:

February: Honing in on 2021—Celebrating the "Band of Brothers"
March: Celebrating the "Band of Brothers" in Fantasy #2
April: Celebrating the "Scooby Gang" #3
May: Celebrating the "Band of Sisters"
June: From Band of Brothers To Bromance!
July: Sister Acts: from the "Band of Sisters" to True Sisterhood
August: When Brotherhoods -- and Bros -- Go Bad!
September: "The Band of Brothers" -- A Few More Fantasy Favorites
October: The Band-of-Brothers in The Heir Of Night
November: The Band-of-Brothers in The Gathering of the Lost

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About the Author

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final installment in The Wall Of Night series.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

When Bands -- & Bros -- Go Bad

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This year, I've been honing in on the importance of "bands of brothers" and Scooby Gangs in the Fantasy genre and storytelling, along with their natural subsets, the bromance and sister acts.

The archetypal "band of brothers"

Today, though, my focus is when bands go bad and found "brother-or-sister-hoods" can't survive the pressures of time or subsequent events. (By way of shorthand, I'm refering to "brotherhood" and "bromances", as the most well-known terms, but I'm including all bonds of intense friendship and loyalty, including "sisters" and "sisterhoods", within their use.)

Quintessential "scooby-gangs"

The whole notion, and magic, of the "band of brothers" is founded on diverse people in extreme or extraordinary circumstances, forging unbreakable bonds. We want to believe in that dream, but real life has habit of testing friendship, loyalty, and good faith -- and what can't be broken outright, may be eroded over time and by competing imperatives.

Then there's the bromance...

Competing and corrosive forces can stem from political, cultural, or religious loyalties, which were not at the forefront when the brotherhood was formed, but which reassert themselves afterward. Obligations of family and community, especially where these must be protected from adverse circumstance, may also undermine bromances and brotherhood loyalties. In other cases, money and advancement may be enough to undermine bonds that once felt strong enough to endure forever. 

...and "sister acts"

"Needless to say", perhaps (since in fantasy we're largely having fun with the heroic and the magical) bands and "bros" that go bad are comparatively few in fantasy storytelling -- but still there to be found!  

In an earlier post, I discussed the bromance between Rodrigo Belmonte and Ammar ibn Khairan in Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan. Their story is a classic example of how a brotherhood-in-arms that makes the heart beat faster, cannot withstand the pressures of subsequent political events, underpinned by national and religious loyalties that not only place them in opposing camps, but eventually, in direct conflict with each other. To uphold their brotherhood, Rodrigo and Ammar would have to abandon families, land and position, and go into exile -- a collective and cumulative cost that proves too high.

Bromance and the band-of-brothers lies at the heart of David Gemmell's heroic fantasy. It's what Julia Cameron would term his "vein of gold" -- but in the Knights of Dark Renown he explores what happens when a band goes bad. The core of the story is that the loyalty and comradeship we laud in the band and bromance ideal can fuel evil when it overrides or trumps the values of good, e.g. justice, truth, compassion, and moral integrity. 

Similarly, in The Poppy War trilogy by RF Kuang, the bonds Rin forms with her fellow students, particularly Kitay and Nezha, and with the band of disparate characters that later follows her, cannot withstand the forces of self-interest and personal ambition, class and political conflict, juxtaposed with the lust for power. In The Poppy War, every band that forms dies in infancy, if not stillborn, and the twin deathblows are always treachery and betrayal.

 

Another take on bands and friendships that fall (far) short of the ideal, can be found in Joe Abercrombie's Half A King (The Shattered Sea #1.) Adverse circumstances see the protagonist, Yarvi, become one of a band of disparate (motley) refugees and escaped slaves fleeing across country in deep winter. Survival dictates they work together, and adversity forms bonds -- but the reader holds few illusions they will survive ambition, self-interest, and the gift of Yarvi (and others) for deception once the band rejoins civilization. And so indeed, by and large, it plays out...

Reality overcoming or eroding bonds of friendship, failed brotherhoods, and broken dreams: there is -- and has to be, imho -- a place in contemporary fantasy for the flipside of the "band of brothers" ideal.

But next month, I promise you, we shall return to happier themes. :-)

~*~

About the Author

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

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Previous Posts:

February: Honing in on 2021—Celebrating the "Band of Brothers"
March: Celebrating the "Band of Brothers" in Fantasy #2
April: Celebrating the "Scooby Gang" #3
May: Celebrating the "Band of Sisters"
June: From Band of Brothers To Bromance!
July: Sister Acts: from the "Band of Sisters" to True Sisterhood

From "Band of Brothers" — to Bromance!

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My premise, of course, is that the bromance is both integral to, and a natural extension of, the "band of brothers" in Fantasy. :-)

The great film bromance...

The bromance is the platonic friendship between two companions, often from diverse backgrounds and usually part of a larger band, who are brought together by (usually adverse) circumstance and sworn closer than brothers. Once, we would have said "blood brothers", but it's the same idea.

Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson: definite bromance territory

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And no, to be a bromance, it can't be a romantic relationship. The whole idea, imho, is the celebration of friendships that are forged in adversity and as strong, if not stronger, than romantic relationships.

Merry & Pippin -- partners in crime

Starting with the most classic of examples, The Lord of the Rings, has both the nine "companions of the Ring" and several "bromances" within it:  Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, and Gimli and Legolas — and no, I'm not mistaken about the latter pair!

Legolas & Gimli -- the book bromance

Although the bromance was Legolas and Aragorn in the films, in Tolkien's book it was definitely Gimli and Legolas. In many ways, they're the most archetypal of the bromances, because of the longstanding schism and mistrust between elves and dwarves, which the friendship between the two surmounts.

Frodo & Sam

I hesitated over Frodo and Sam, because Sam is Frodo's servant, whereas a "bromance" implies a relationship between equals. Their friendship grows far beyond a master/servant relationship, though, and into one of equals in spirit, deeds, and fact. I believe Tolkien may even have said that Sam was the 'true hero" of The Lord of the Rings -- but I feel all the nine companions deserve that accolade. :-)

When it comes to Fantasy bromances, I can never go past Tenaka Khan and Ananais in David Gemmell's The King Beyond The Gate. Although a band of rebels forms about them, their experience, fighting abilities, and longstanding friendship are its core. And at the end, Tenaka sets aside his ambition (which is considerable), and sense of destiny, deferring both for Ananais's sake.

Another of the great bromances, but also one of the most tragic, is the close friendship and sworn brotherhood of Rodrigo Belmonte and Ammar ibn Khairan in Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan. In a culturally and militarily divided realm (think the Moorish and Christian kingdoms of Spain), they serve together as mercenaries when both are exiled from their home realms. Later, events and prior loyalties see Rodrigo and Ammar on different sides, similar to Cuchulain and Ferdia in Irish legend (the Ulster Cycle.) 

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A comparable "sistermance" (a female equivalent of "bromance" apparently) are Tarma and Kethry, swordmaster and sorceress respectively, in Mercedes Lackey's Vows and Honor series. Formerly part of the Sunhawks mercenary band, they travel the realm of Valdemar and set wrongs to right.

More recent Fantasy examples include Marcus and Belair in AK Wilder's AMASSIA trilogy. Both are savants and the heirs of neighbouring realms, but are thrown together in a way that doesn't encourage friendship. However the subsequent quest-journey tempers their relationship into personal loyalty and an unwavering alliance -- within their larger "band", which is desperately trying to stave off catastrophe for their world.

The Amassia series

Dev, a caravan scout and onetime child-thief, and Kiran, an apprentice blood mage, are the protagonists in Courtney Schafer's Shattered Sigil series. Although from very different backgrounds, Kiran is on the run for his life and initially only Dev has the wilderness knowledge and skills to get him to safety. As the dangers that surround them both intensify, their growing friendship and loyalty to each other become the rock against which their enemies founder.

In T Frohock's Los Nefilim trilogy, the primary bonds are those of family, between the protagonist, Diago, and his husband Miquel, and son, Rafael. Conversely, the relationship between Diago and Guillermo, the leader of Los Nefilim, is not without tensions. Nonetheless, their friendship has been tempered across lifetimes and their fraternal loyalty is also one of the story's primary, and most enduring, relationships.

And yes, bromances are also found in my The Wall Of Night series. :-) In Book Two, The Gathering of the Lost, the close friendships between Audin and Hamar, Raher and Girvase -- all part of a larger band of young knights bent on winning renown and glory amid darkening events -- are definitely bromance territory. 

In Daughter of Blood, the battle-forged friendship between the Storm Spear, Kalan, and Tirael, a prince-captain from an opposing house is unquestionably a bromance -- to the extent that they fight side-by-side to defend a bridal caravan, and Tirael swears brotherhood to Kalan when events separate them again.

Although these are just a few examples, I know there are many more in the Fantasy genre -- and would love to discover a few of  your favorites via the Comments. :-)

~*~

About the Author

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

~*~

Previous Posts:

February: Honing in on 2021—Celebrating the "Band of Brothers"
March: Celebrating the "Band of Brothers" in Fantasy #2
April: Celebrating the "Scooby Gang" #3
May: Celebrating the "Band of Sisters"