A Visual Development Project by Shelbye Karr
Princess Taoshira is appalled when she is ordered to marry Prince Ramil ac Burinholt in order to unite their lands. And Ramil's not too pleased either. They hate each other on sight. So when she and Ramil are kidnapped, they fear there's no escape - either from their kidnappers or from each other. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive ambush, unarmed combat, brainwashing and imprisonment? And will the people they meet on their extraordinary adventure - including a circus strongman, a daring rebel leader, a sinister master of spies and the best female fighter they have ever seen - help them or betray them to the enemy..?
- Dragonfly by Julia Golding -
I have been in love with this book since I was in middle school when I happened to stumble upon it in my school library. The characters, the world building, the complex storytelling all spoke to me in ways that lit a fire for me to start my own journey with story creation. Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series may have been my first brush with imagination, but Julia Golding taught me how to take ideas and make them into beautiful worlds.
Fourth Crown Princess Taoshira of Kai
Whenever I looked at the various publications of Dragonfly, Taoshira, or ‘Tashi’ was always depicted as a white woman with blonde hair and green eyes which felt at odds with the cultural that was being described. Everything pointed to an Eastern Asian culture with heavy influence on high context forms of communication that focuses more on body language than plain speaking, the descriptor of the Blue Crescent people developing gun powder before the continent did as well as flowing garments, fans and face paint reminiscent of the geisha of Japan. This led me to treat Tashi as an Asian girl with less a than perfect court appearance to represent the fact that she doesn’t feel adequate as a princess but comfortable in the stolen clothes with a sling like when she was a goat herder on Kai.
Prince Ramil ac Burinholt
Ramil ‘Ram’ ac Burinholt is Tashi’s opposite in every way - where she was trained to be a princess who is quiet and stony faced, hidden behind face paint and a fan, Ram has always worn his heart on his sleeve, the definition of brash and a over emotional. He’s got the wandering soul of his mother’s people, the Horse Followers of the Southern Desert, but the dedication and civil mindedness of his father King Lagan. He’s cunning, a little arrogant and has an attitude that is seen in his battle strategy and many one liners scattered throughout the book. He’s also willing to humble himself and admit his mistakes making him the leader his father could be proud of.
Gordoc Ironfist
According to the book, Gordoc Ironfist can be described as ‘a giant of a man, with a big bushy beard.’ Naturally I turned to a mix of fighting game simulators, the Hulk, as well as members of the worlds strongest man contest like Tom Stoltman of Scotland. Despite his oversized appearance he has a heart of gold, taking care of Tashi despite everyone calling her a witch and when she’s gone, making sure that Ramil doesn’t drive himself into the ground either.