Mordor She Wrote
November 7, 2010 in Character & Plot Analysis, Dead in the Family - Book 10, Dead Reckoning - Book 11, Guest Posts, Southern Vampire Mysteries
A LESSON IN VAMPIRE POLITICS – PART II
To review, we learned previously that Sookie should avoid Texas like the plague, Wright is wrong, Fredya might be a key member in the Alliance, and the Ewoks’ empire toppling services won’t be available this go round.
Indeed.
Picking up where I left off last time, I suggested war is the only option for Eric and friends in their attempt to pry the fingers of the Nevada regime from Louisiana. With that in mind, let us examine on a more technical scale the machinations of the vampire political system from the material we have encountered thus far and what drastic measures could be incorporated into the future plot.
How does this Vampocracy thing work from the top down? So far as it can be discerned, the natural order of rule by title of position inside the kingdom goes like this:
Kings and Queens – Russell Edgington, Felipe De Castro, Freyda
Royal Deputies – Victor Madden, Andre
Area Representatives – Sandy Sechrest
Sheriffs – Eric
Lieutenants – Pam
“Investigators” – Bill
Vassals – Thalia
The Kings and Queens are the absolute sovereigns of their domain and are also sometimes the Sheriff of the area they inhabit, ie. Sophie-Anne was the Sheriff of Area 1 in addition to being Queen of the entire state of Louisiana.
The Royal Deputies hold position over the Sheriffs, but do not decide policy independent of their sovereigns unless ordered to do so.**
**I mention this because I want to point out that Victor Madden has not been given the title of King, but rather is stuck as a Royal Deputy.. which I believe is a crucial fact, in so much as we should remember that Felipe De Castro is King of Louisiana and Arkansas (and Nevada).
The Sheriffs answer to the King or Queen, and their Lieutenants act on their behalf with other Sheriffs.
Investigators seduce pretty young girls and maintain databases. High proficiency in stalker skills required. K, investigators probably do something if they actually exist but beyond Bill’s penis envy and need to look more impressive in front of Sookie, they are irrelevant to the plot at this point.
And Vassals, well.. they probably grovel most of the time.
NOT ALL VAMPIRES ARE CREATED EQUAL
How does one become a King or Queen? It’s unlikely that there is a vote amongst the bloodsucker population, but it can’t be ruled out. As is the case with most aspects of vampire culture, the rule of order appears to be based on fear and power. And to a lesser extent, money.
But are money and influence all that is required to rise to the ranks of royalty? Perhaps not. Aside from the obvious trappings of the powerful, we also know that Sophie-Anne had unique abilities that permitted her to keep her children around, as well as communicate with them telepathically. The “vampire elite” must have some advantage over a tween vassal – whether it is age alone is questionable, and it remains to be seen if Felipe De Castro has some secret power up his sleeve that has allowed him to be so successful in expanding his power base. I’m curious to see what might be Queen Freyda’s deal as well.
But how are the Kings and Queens organized within the Clan-doms you wonder? Eric gives us a description the highest rule of law when discussing Felipe’s takeover of Louisiana:
Eric: “He took Louisana because he wasn’t frightened of SophieAnn as everyone else. He planned, and executed quickly and with precision after the governing… board… of Narayana Clan approved his plan.”
Sookie: “He had to present a plan before he moved on us?”
Eric: “That’s the way it’s done.”
(p 155)
GOVERNING…BOARD?
Consider this pause. Is Eric struggling to come up with the English equivalent of a phrase? Or is it an archaic term he doesn’t want to use in front of Sookie who may misinterpret and overreact? Or, does he not know how Narayana is run? I doubt that.
If Eric is describing a governing board as we would understand it, who is on it? All the Kings and Queens of the Clan? Or are Sheriffs involved too? Do they run on seniority of the members or just cronyism? Or is it run by special interest groups and members of the left wing media with soul corrupting agendas? Eric’s slight hesitation is a head-scratcher, it remains to be seen if there is something more here, but I think we can interpret it as Kings and Queens until proven wrong. For starters, its the simplest answer and for seconds, I do not see Kings and Queens giving up their any of their authority to elected officials, or otherwise.
In my opinion these royal vamps are royal snobs and will not give up an inch of sovereignty to anyone below them.
It’s how they roll.
Moving on, Eric tells us that the vampiric government was conceived in the Enlightenment period, paralleling the creation the US Constitution, which has to mean it bears some semblance of forward thinking logic… albeit with a huge helping of corruption and agism. Natch.
(And maybe they actually make laws instead of waiting around for the judicial system to pick up the slack? Oh snap!)
Anyway, Eric explains to Sookie and the readers that,
“At the first national meeting, about three hundred years ago, there were many disagreements.” (p 154).
He doesn’t elaborate on what those disagreements were about, but most likely they involved how the Clans would be organized and the natural order of vampire law. The allusion to that century makes me think that the Governing Board acts somewhat like a combination of the US Senate and the executive branch, while the King-Queen-Senators also act as governors of their own states. As for the Sheriffs, in relatable terms each appears to be like a US House Representative and dually a mayor of their Area.
HOWDY, SHEWIFF
With the example of Eric contacting Salome about her errant child Mickey in DD, it is evident that each Sheriff can contact another Sheriff directly and without needing to consult the head of state beforehand. Meaning, they are recognized as equals across state lines.
But how do the Sherriffs operate their affairs? Referrring once again to the information session of Chapter 7 from Dead In the Family, Sookie asks Eric for clarification on the nitty-gritty of vampire political activity.
“How does the business of – well, of Amun, say – get conducted between those biennial meetings?” There had to be stuff that came up.
“Message boards, mostly. If we have to have a face-to-face, committees of sheriffs meet, depending on the situation. If I had an argument with the vampire of another sheriff, I’d call that sheriff, and if he wasn’t ready to give me satisfaction, his lieutenant would meet with my lieutenant.” (158)
Lets take the first gem, the message boards. Isn’t that techno savvy of them?
Far be it for me to criticize the Sheriffs for using the internet as a means of communication, maybe Eric is a forum mod? The power to delete threads can be quite… tempting, heheh. But isn’t it strange that they’d use a form of communication that is hackable? Corruptible? With the prevalence of spying in the vampire political sector, some vampire computer geek must be watching those boards at all times.
Database my axe, Compton.
[Also interesting is the fact that Sam partakes in shifter business on message boards. Could this be a clue that Sam is involved behind the scenes in shifter politics? And there is also the incident in FDTW with Sandy Sechrest seeking Sam out specifically in Merlotte’s, in order to give him her business card. Why would a “nobody” shifter need that? Hmm? Churn, conspiracy theory brains! Churn!]
But back to the Sheriffs, and note this part in particular; “If we have to have a face-to-face, committees of sheriffs meet, depending on the situation.” Sheriff committees meet,… This would seem to be a different grouping to that of the ‘governing board.’ Sheriffs probably meet each other more often than not, as there is less of a chance for their communications to be intercepted.
I think we can deduce a few possibilities here. First, there are different Sheriff committees, probably allocated to specific functions (for example Budget, External Clan Policy, War Appropriations etc), and secondly, that Eric is on a committee or committees.
So where does this leave Eric in his attempts to barter within Amun for assistance with his annoying little political problem? It would seem that Eric can only appeal for aid at the committee level, if he is to get any help from Amun at all. Obviously, Eric can’t take it to the governing board – unless he wants to tip off Nevada since they are most likely represented at that level.
Besides, Eric must have loads more sheriff comrades then he does royal chums.
TO RIVENDELL, ANON!
So another thing noticed in Chapter 7 of Dead In The Family, which is quickly becoming known as the Chapter of DOOM, a summit lurks in the not so distant future - this time however without the pomp and ceremony experienced at Rhodes. Take it away, Sookie:
Sookie: “Um, okay. So the kings and queens of each state in a particular division get together to make decisions and bond – what, every two years?” …Eric: “Yes,” he said. “Unless there’s some crisis that calls for an extra meeting.” (p 157)
And then continued a little later on:
Sookie: “And if that didn’t work?”
Eric: “We’d kick the dispute up the ladder, to the summit. In between meeting years, there’s an informal gathering, with no ceremony or celebration.” (p 158)
From this we can extrapolate the following: one, that emergency Amun meetings can be called in times of crisis and two, that there are informal summits in the off years, which means one will be popping up soon.
Say in the next six months.
ATD began at the end of September, and DITF took place in March – so around six months have passed since the last big summit in Rhodes. Based on Eric’s statement, we would therefore be looking at an informal summit in around six more months, give or take. Harris generally covers around one to two months in a novel – usually with time jumps in between books of anywhere between a few weeks to a couple of months, it’s probably reasonable to predict that we’ll see this summit come around in Book 12 or 13.
SVB or someone, please email Charlaine so she does not forget the summit is coming up on the schedule. (And no, that would not be obsessive and/or insane).
With this in mind, let us now depart into the wild area of speculation…
Uhhh I dunno, Philosoraptor. Thats why I’m asking you.
WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
If we may, let us jump to that conversation of the pretty vintage suit and the shirtless wonder in Chapter 3 of DITF, when Pam cautioned that to kill Victor without killing Felipe was too much of a gamble, while Eric on the other hand wanted to leave Felipe out of any plots if he could. Sookie reasoned that they couldn’t take the risk of NOT killing Felipe – that potential forecast is too dicey.
Unless plot developments change the current outlook, the king has to die too.
HOW TO KILL A KING
How does one decapitate or stake through the heart or burn to cinders or expose to sunlight a head of state? Especially when the obstacles are so stacked against Frodo Eric?
If they try to eliminate Nevada with the same tactics that Nevada used to overthrow Sophie-Anne’s Louisiana, Team Eric would fail. Outright fail. There is no way that Eric get enough ‘strike teams’ together no matter how much help he can receive from the outside. Mainly, in order to eliminate Felipe, Victor, and their minions they’d have to do so in three different states while still retaining the element of surprise. A typical invasion would be suicidal kamikaze tomfoolery – this regime is not weak.
But in my humble opinion, where there is a will there is a way.
So what particularly does Eric need to destroy Felipe De Castro and Victor Madden?
MONEY MONEY MONEY…MON-EY
Just how much green does Eric have? He has more than Sookie knows, I think. Combining Eric’s business acumen with what Katherine Boudreaux girlfriend Sallie said, he pays a crapload of taxes (p 241, DITF) and he should have recently inherited the remainder of Appius Livius Ocella’s estate if there was one. Connected to this, Sookie’s observation in Dead in the Family that Eric’s business was down – no reason was given though Pam once mentioned what a witch could do if they wanted to interrupt the flow of a business. Has Fangtasia been cursed? Or has the general attitude towards vamps changed in the local fangbanger populace? Or is it a great government conspiracy to keep the business repressed?
Doubtless, all of Eric’s money can’t be invested in Fangtasia. He must at least be stashing cash under the mattress or have offshore accounts some place that the US government is not able to tax. I think you can take it to the bank there is more dough…well, somewhere.
BUT WHAT TO BUY?
If money can’t buy you love, it can buy you guns. Hired guns. And pretty elven cloaks with +16 Damage Resistance.
Since vampires don’t need anything outside of themselves in order to kill we’ll leave out armor and ammunition, although some stakes and swords would be helpful. How much aid is Oklahoma willing to supply for free? How many soldiers does Freyda have? Can they sway any one else’s favor? More importantly Eric needs as much power as he can buy; bodyguards for protection from the Nevada vamps as well as assassins in order to kill them. The Britlingens cost a heap of money, can Eric afford them?
I’m quite sure this guy is available.
The shark desktop wallpaper just screams BAMF. Hey, Eric and Sookie will take any ally they can get at this point. The dude has a laser pointer, sick.
ALL HANDS ON DECK!
Oh why hello Niall, hello Eric’s Other Child. Heck, Red Rover Red Rover, send Bill Compton over!
But beyond gathering up friends and frenemies, they need a political powerhouse that will back them once they assassinate Victor Madden and Felipe De Castro. What is to prevent another hostile takeover by vamps seeking to take advantage of the chaos and the resulting leadership vacuum? In order maintain their own hold on Louisiana they need a rich ally, yes – but they need a respected and feared political ally too.
This is why Oklahoma is so important.
Compare it to the game Monopoly, (well.. with more dire consequences). If your enemy lands Park Place, you can’t let them take the other blue-property-I-can’t-remember-the-name-of. (Personally, this is why you bribe the banker to start the game, and or become the real estate agent in the first place. Yes, I play dirty – but I WIN). To hold the comparison, Eric can’t afford the blue piece on his own, but Oklahoma can help him with an under the table deal. Oklahoma can’t allow Nevada to purchase the entire board either, but if Oklahoma buys up that other blue piece, at least there won’t be a… monopoly. *shameface.* And then if Nevada trades Park Place to his friend Utah, Oklahoma will still have saved Eric from another.. illegal conglomerate.
Right, so a summary thus far of Eric’s needs: money, mercs and a political heavy weight. What else is left on the list?
A SITCH
Not the Situation,… a situation. A trap. A set of circumstances. Eric and company can’t ninja into the dragon’s den of Nevada to take out their enemies, not to mention the untold evil that sleeps there. On the other hand, Eric’s crew cannot set a trap easily themselves. Victor is not going to set foot in Fangtasia again without a small army alongside after the EPIC FAIL of Bruno Brazell, that much we can derive.
Oh Boromir. You slay me.
That’s right, you do not simply derive, drive, walk, wok, waltz, tap dance, fly, pogo-stick, rock, slip ‘n’ slide, teleport, or even take the train to Mordor.
You let Mordor come to you.
At a summit.
For Kings and Queens.
Of which Sauron Felipe De Castro is obligated to attend.
This informal summit, as we’ve already established, is on track for book 12 at the earliest. Where should this informal summit be held? The last summit was held at Rhodes, Michigan and in all likelihood they will not play host again, (unless Michigan is Amun Clan capital)? Which allies inside Amun will be in on this potential plot? Will Rasul have convinced the remaining Michigan vamps to come to Eric’s aid? What was the point of him spying there on those vamps, of all places?
I can hardly wait to learn how this all plays out. *bites on fingernails.*
This much is assured – if Felipe dies at the summit, it will send a message to other divisions not to mess with Amun.
AND if the other states so choose, they need not say who killed whom. “But no!” you say, “it would risk a Clan to Clan all out war!” Gadzooks! Possibly, but I doubt it; Narayana would only be losing a king, the state of Nevada would still be theirs to control and up for internal grabs. Hardly a reason to get their panties in a bunch, but we’ll see.
OH, AND ONE LAST NUGGET
My preemptive apologies for any waves of uncontrollable panic or fear-induced stomach lurching I may cause throughout the Sookieverse with my final thought – but really it could all be a well planned feint – what more convenient excuse could there be for Oklahoma’s Queen Freyda and her retinue to be present and accounted for at said summit, than her marriage to one of the members of the Amun Clan?
At first this seems counter intuitive, seeing as Oklahoma belongs to Zeus, not Amun. Their presence at the summit can’t be a penciled in marriage to Eric as that would send up obvious neon warning flags to Nevada. Oklahoma can be there officially on another matter though, leaving Freyda to take ‘marriage as payment’ after Felipe meets the final death.
It certainly seems plausible. Just sayin’.
Please don’t hurt me!
Well, thats all folks. I hope I’ve given everyone enough to tide them over for a while!
Until next time (if there is a next time!)…like if I’m not in the witness protection program first. Eeeeeek.
You are so awesome Serena. I love these. Also, Broadway is the other blue piece.
And wasn’t there a mention of Eric owning an all-night dry cleaners at some point? There’s another business endeavor.
I also totally agree with you that there is something shifty about our beloved shifter. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) I may be doing a Sam-focused re-read soon. As much as I hate to admit it, there may be a political marriage in Eric’s future.
PS:I have a stuffed Ewok, Wicket. I’ve had him since I was one.
Aww,
I named my pet rabbit Wicket, I was rather obsessed with the Battle for Endor movie, I watched it long before I ever saw Star Wars. Had a hard time figuring out Luke wasn’t related in anyway to Cindel. Lol.
Didn’t Arla Yvonne have the drycleaners? Hmm.. then again I also thought Eric said something about having a dry cleaners too before he opened Fangtasia, yet another thing to look up. Dang, someone needs to make a Sookieverse encyclopedia so we could do a simple search. Will the real Bill Compton please stand up? (after we’ve given him a severe butt kicking for his hacking today, obvi). lol.
The other blue property is Boardwalk.
great insights! do you think Pam and Sookie’s trip (in the short story) sheds any light on Eric’s plan? I’m sure he must have one, or is forming one.
I’m wondering if there is a simpler way of doing this? Maybe Felipe would allow Eric to kill Victor? If Victor were gone Eric would be in a much better position wouldn’t he?
It’s Boardwalk not Broadway, lol. It might help you remember it better Serena, my fellow gamer, as a store in many malls where one can purchase role-playing and other games, called, “Boardwalk and Park Place”. I assume your a gamer from the “And pretty elven cloaks with +16 Damage Resistance.” comment, LOL!
As for all the political goings on, I must admit I really didn’t pay a lot of attention to it in the books. I’ve only read them once, but after the past few posts and all the political speculations I think I’ll re-read them so I can focus more on that aspect. The first time I read through them was pretty fast cuz I was anxious to get to the sex scenes,lol. Thanks for your insight, and I must say the LOTR parallel was awesome! Philosoraptor, freakin’ hilarious!
“Casual gamer,” maybe. LOL. I like FF, Fallout and thats about it. Not many games fill my cup of tea. Oh and the last time I played Monopoly the board was in German, so my memory is scrambled. >.< Total cop out I know. LOL.
I'm totally crushing on the Philosoraptor! I can't wait for the day that there is a genre that includes vampires, velociraptors, and robots. My life will be complete.
Eric is just a Sceriff, marry him wouldn’t do enything to enyone especially to Felipe who could be the one to proposed to Freyja a marriage instead of an open war.
If Eric become King a political marriage could be good for Luisiana and their safety but they have to put down Felipe first….
‘Till Felipe is alive and Luisiana has a King a marriage for Eric is nonesense couse a Sceriff is only a Sceriff and marriage happen between King or Queen.
Do we know if Victor is Felipe’s child? I was just thinking, Andre was QSA’s child, so why would Felipe appoint a Royal Deputy who wasn’t his child? Wouldn’t a king or queen only give that position to someone they trusted? I also wonder about other characters that might come into play. What about Hot Rain? We first heard about him in DUD. We know he carries a grudge against Eric, but where does he fit into the vampire hierarchy? I think you’re right about Fredya being a big player in the next book, but there are a lot of vampire relationships that need to be made known. Sookie needs to get her mitts on Bill’s database so we know who’s related to who.
No we don’t know who VM’s maker is, but that could be the case. Yeah, one of the things that irked me hardcore about DITF was Sookie not looking up Victor’s name on Bill’s database. That and Eric’s name, like he’s your boyfriend. GOOGLE HIM.
Then she went and gave the thing BACK. A case of the stupids or what?
There is also the example of QSA appointing a deputy of Arkansas, I believe he was mentioned in FDTW right before the takeover and how they hadn’t heard from ‘him.’ It was never said that he was her child, (and granted Andre was dead) so I don’t think they have to be progeny but it does make sense for them to be… secretly I’ve always wondered if the whole power structure was one big ruse and we have it backwards like Victor is Felipe’s maker, but maybe thats cause my brain’s so twisty?
Your Hot Rain idea is intriguing.. hmm.. I need to reread book 5, its my least favorite & least read book. We never heard why HR didn’t come directly did we? He could at the very least be a Sheriff, if not higher up. Egads, I’m ashamed I can’t remember a bean about Hot Rain, I have to look that up..
There are quite a few characters that could be built on, I have my little eye on Sandy Secherest. I want to know what she knows and if she’s someone else’s spy? o.O?
And also Copley Carmichael. Its seems he’s tight with Nevada now and maybe if Eric would kidnap Amelia and hold her ‘ransom’ they could get info out of him? .. though Sookie probably wouldn’t like that. . In the early going I was going to include him in this with his fiscal connections, but there aren’t many facts to go on there.. I bet he ties in somewhere to the final plot. IDK.
Thanks Serena for a thought-provoking part 2. Since Texas is at risk, and Oklahoma and Texas are kissing cousins anyway, I’m thinking that alliance might help Freyda and Stan sleep days, but I do hope there is some link between Freyda and Eric though, and that RE might also be part of the plot;) I’m not sure I want to see Eric king since it’s something he hasn’t seemed to want in the past but I’m all for Queen Pam; I think she has the necessary skill set and ambition. I wonder if she isn’t thinking more strategically than even Eric lately.
Anyone who knows anything about me, knows how I feel about Bill so I have to comment on Waiting for Sunday’s comment about the db. I also think Sookie should have looked around a little before returning the CD to Bill’s house. Knowledge is power after all and I hope there’s something there that would make her suspicious about Bill’s relationship with NV. Dang her for being all goody-two-shoes on that one!
Is it May yet? Does anyone know when the Companion’s going to get released?
It comes out in February, I think.
Also, I recall Sookie thinking to herself once that Eric had told her that he had no desire to be King but I don’t recall when he actually made that known to her. When did he say that?
Wow Serena, thank you for Texas Take’em and Mordor. I’m gob smacked at the possible machinations you’ve exposed.
Are you perhaps a “back room lobbyist” in real life? LOL. Political intrigue is not my strong suit, so I really appreciate your efforts.
A marriage of vampire convenience makes my heart skip a beat, but I can see it. No stone throwing from me.
Ha! Bobsgran, I wish. Sadly, I’m not evil enough to be a lobbyist. My aunt is one, bleeping millionaire now. I did consider it though, & I can see myself fitting in with a liberal think tank type org, but to me American politics is so… boring. LOL. (Its all the business party anyway, so whats the diff?) & thats why I majored in International Relations, or the lack there of. Lol.
On the marriage, this thought came to me late, so I didn’t include it… It could be possible that Fredya proposes to marry Victor or Felipe to bait them into something? Or perhaps with Michigan. It might not be with Eric, but I don’t think it is a coincidence that there is a summit coming up and that summits are linked with vampire marriages.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Bobsgran,
This post was so good it broke the website. And also… ZOMG THAT GIF.
But it was worth the down time!
Crap, it now occurs to me that I missed out on a double layered joke with that gif, as one cannot simply Christopher Walken into Mordor. I will never forgive myself.
Lol.
I’m guessing that Freyda is going to have some kind of blood-link to Eric through Appius Livius Ochella, possibly that she is the progeny of one of Ochella’s other (probably now fianlly dead) children. This will be how she’ll be willing and able to help in any attempt to overthrow FDC and VM.
I can’t see how a political marriage could directly involve Eric though, as he is married to Sookie under Vampire Law and that bond is sacred. As much as Sookie is now off-limits to other supes and vampires as Eric’s wife the same applies to Eric. For him to enter into another marriage, even a political one, would require either Sookie’s death or a means of disolving their marriage which automatically makes it open season on Sookie. She’d have no protection from any vampire or supe that decided to swoop in and snatch her up or neutralise her as an asset for Eric and his people (yes, I’m looking at you there, Victor…).
“as he is married to Sookie under Vampire Law and that bond is sacred. As much as Sookie is now off-limits to other supes and vampires as Eric’s wife the same applies to Eric. For him to enter into another marriage, even a political one, would require either Sookie’s death or a means of disolving their marriage which automatically makes it open season on Sookie. She’d have no protection from any vampire or supe that decided to swoop in and snatch her up or neutralise her as an asset for Eric and his people (yes, I’m looking at you there, Victor…).”
EXACTLY!
Maybe this was explained in an earlier blog entry, but why couldn’t Pam be the one taking control with Eric backing her, so that she would be the one in line for a political marriage, etc. From Pam’s various comments over the past ten books, I gather that she would actually be more prepared and willing to rule than Eric. And, frankly, I’d much rather see Eric devoting more time to Sookie during her short human life, letting Pam do her thing.
I could see there being a “well, your maker can control their child” thing, but in that case, couldn’t Pam just be the acting regent and Eric would be the mere figurehead?
On Pam as regent, I really don’t think it will happen.
What Louisiana needs to stay in power after Nevada has been ousted is fear/respect from vampires outside the state and clan. And while I do think some of that will come from Oklahoma, Eric hiding behind Pam’s curtain defeats the purpose. – Pam has no connections, no political relationships of her own that we are aware of, everyone would see her as Eric’s puppet and therefore ‘weak.’ And in their minds if Eric is that powerful, why isn’t he running the state?
And while we all think of Pam as super BAMF, other vampires don’t and IMO that would be bad for business, as they need the strongest state they can muster… even if it is only in appearance. (It goes back to the beginning of ATD where Eric told Sookie not to dress poor at Rhodes. They couldn’t risk looking like they were a weakened state after Katrina, and this is all before QSA lost her legs). They can’t afford to look weak in any respect, whether its physical or political.
However, that is not to say Pam in all her fierceness (that we the readers recognize) can’t run the kingdom behind the scenes. She just can’t be named Queen.
I actually see a political marriage as a good thing for Eric and Sookie, it protects them more than it hurts their relationship IMO, they have to put an end to the never ending cycle of the political elite seeking to ‘use’ Sookie, and it would be beyond anything Niall could provide (as in his bribing the US government).
And Eric will sit on the throne gosh darn it! (*looks around* .. Where’s SVB?
)
Sonia wrote:
“Maybe this was explained in an earlier blog entry, but why couldn’t Pam be the one taking control with Eric backing her, so that she would be the one in line for a political marriage, etc. From Pam’s various comments over the past ten books, I gather that she would actually be more prepared and willing to rule than Eric. And, frankly, I’d much rather see Eric devoting more time to Sookie during her short human life, letting Pam do her thing.”
I agree. Another thing. I think that Eric’s lived long enough to know/feel that being a king or queen in this political system is not all it’s cracked up to be. Especially now that they’re “out” to the public and have the opportunity to live openly. That is, why be a king when you can be a businessman? As for Pam, I think the King/Queen thing is more her game. I think part of this may be her relative youth and part may be her personality. If Pam were Queen or Regent it wouldn’t take long for her to cement her authority.
I wonder if Sookie breaks the BB if that will also nullify her vampire marriage to Eric?
I just hope it’s broken – i find the whole blood bond thing really creepy and makes Sookies’ feelings and emotions not her own.
Actually, at the end of DitF, Sookie felt that the blood bond had lessened, but she still loved Eric. So I don’t think it created false feelings for eric. I’ve never been particularly for or against it. I have seen it used as an excuse by people who don’t like the sookie/eric relationship as an explanation for sookie’s feelings. Doesn’t matter, CH has already said that she’s going to break the bond.
See I don’t know about this. Yes, Sookie and Eric are married under vampire law and that affords her protection from other vampires.
But Sookie is not a vampire. So much has been made of vampire’s sense of superiority over humans generally, that I think we could be presuming too much to say that Sookie is viewed equal to other vampires just because she’s married to one. That’s to say, that if it were politically expedient for Eric to be married to someone else, I’m not sure that Sookie’s “claim” on Eric would usurp the interests of other vampires (either Eric, or any other).
I guess since this is the only example we have seen of vampire/human marriage in the series, there is still alot we don’t know. But based on what we DO know about vampire priorities and hierarchy, and the way they conduct their affairs, I just find it unlikely that vampire law would view the rights of the human party to the marriage as equal to their own.
Well this is definitely true. So perhaps Eric’s marriage to Sookie makes her off limits to other vampires, but he remains available to marry another vampire – with his human “wife” sort of a glorified pet (in the eyes of other vampires)? We know that a vampire marriage, at least the ones involving royalty, are sacred for a hundred years. The question is whether or not the same is true for marriages between vampires when neither party is a monarch. Vampire/human marriages obviously don’t have that distinction since the human would never live that long.
And I’ve lost my train of thought on this…. LOL.
I think the thing that is overlooked is the blood bond – how real are Sookies feelings for Eric – does she even know? – i find it really disturbing and can’t help but feel that hers is a false relationship – she might have fallen for him without the blood bond and entered into a relationship with him, but she just as likely might not. I think this needs to be covered in more depth, the whole thing with the blood bond makes me really uncomfortable – does anyone think this is going to be resolved?
Just to add, I don’t think it is a coincidence that the human x vampire marriage ceremony was different from the vamp x vamp marriage ceremony. There was no blood exchanged, so I don’t see it as being that ‘sacred’ under vampire law.
Heck, the divorce could be as easy as handing the knife back for all we know.
So all this talk about vampire marriage rituals has me poring over ATD like a freakin’ encyclopedia.
From ATD, Eric reciting the marriage vows between Russell and Bart:
This is FUCKING DICEY.
It suggests one of two things, depending on how you read the wording:
1. That the duration of the marriage is 100 years, UNLESS both parties agree to one of them forming an alliance (ie. marrying) someone else, or;
2. That a marriage, and an alliance are two separate things. ie. for 100 years, they may not marry any other…BUT, they may form an ALLIANCE with another as long as the other party (ie, the husband/wife) mutually agrees to it.
So which is it. I tend to think the former but a case could be made for either.
And we still don’t know if this applies to a human/vampire marriage since Eric and Sookie didn’t make these vows.
Eric continues:
This seems to confirm that these marriages are primarily for convenience. Neither party is expected to put their own interests, or that of their state, second to that of their partner. Again, this throws Sookie’s claim on Eric into question. If it’s permitted under the marriage vows for married vampires to form other alliances where it is politically advantageous, where does that leave a vampire/human marriage?
Up shit creek by comparison, I would think.
*crawls under doona and I’m not coming out until 2014*.
i was reading some CH answers to her fans and she said that “Eric and Sookie are married under vampire law and that vampires take these stuff seriously”
She also said to a fan that Sookie and Eric (if they want) could divorce as we humans do.
ooohhh, thank you for finding that Mony! I just hope a divorce isn’t in their future
Don’t fret, i don’t think it’s in their future, she was just answering random questions on her board and explained to someone if Sookie and Eric are obliged in this marriage of if they can divorce like the humans..i’ve all of her quotes on a Word doc so i don’t have right now the link where iv found them but i guess it was her board or on sookie stackhouse’s tangler forum ^^
Serena, did you mention any of the summits for the other three clans? If each clan has a summit every two years, and a more informal meeting every year in between, there could be two summits and two meetings a year. There could be some lap over, because people from other clans can attend other clans summits for business reasons, right? My brain is starting to hurt.
Yes I think that is exactly correct, they probably schedule them 3 months apart from each other so the members of all the Clans can attend if they need or want to. Perhaps the Zeus summit will happen in Dead Reckoning?
Love the LOTR references!!
Excellent post again Serena! You just will not let that whole Eric-and-Freyda marriage thing go will you? LOL.
Seriously though, I was thinking, can a vampire monarch even marry someone of a lesser station? Do we have any examples of that happening? The only unions I recall are QSA and Peter Threadgill and Russell and his beloved (whose name escapes me) but who was also a King.
Also, would Eric necessarily have to overthrow Felipe in Nevada and Arkansas too? Couldn’t he just try to oust him from Louisiana and let FDC keep the other states?
Sophie-Anne seriously considered marrying Andre at Sookie’s suggestion – so it must be possible for them to marry “beneath” them.
Ah, quite right. I’d forgotten about that.
No I won’t.
LOL. I love to harp on things, I’m surprised no one has gotten on me for bringing up EOC. lol.
Yeah this all comes back to how we don’t know Kings and Queens are nominated/selected. I don’t think age is a requirement exactly and I doubt the Sheriffs are looked upon as an inferior ‘caste’ incapable of climbing the social ladder, I think it comes down to just general badassery. Eric respected SophieAnn and freely chose to follow her I think… likely the crown goes to the vamp that can take it & can hold it, so I don’t see a technical issue between a Freyda-Eric marriage like that.
Oh that would be King Bartlett of Indiana, ( I had to look it up while writing).
“I don’t think age is a requirement exactly and I doubt the Sheriffs are looked upon as an inferior ‘caste’ incapable of climbing the social ladder”
Yes, as we saw Stan rise from Sheriff to King in ATD. I hope Sookie doesnt push Eric away permanently if this marriage does happen.
I think KRE’s husband was Bart of Indiana.
Oh, and that “It’s go time” dude is going to give me nightmares.
Serena, I like the idea of Pam being the Head Honcho in the event of a takeover/overthrow, but then I’ve been in favour of Queen Pam for a while now. I do believe that if she hadn’t have chosen to go into business with Eric when he called her that she’d be sheriff of her own area by now, as she took the reins over easily and capably during the AE period. In fact, we know very little of what Pam was doing in Minnesotta (?) before she came to Shreveport so it’d be interesting to see what power or position she had back there, and it may well provide the perfect springboard for Pam to become something more than Eric’s progeny and second in command.
Viking Dame – as far as I’m aware the blood bond and marriage are two seperate thing, so disolving the BB wouldn’t negate the marriage.
I know this is a bit out there but, it ocurred to me that we’re just too focused on Freyda marrying Erik. Has anyone thought about Felipe marrying Erik? it wouldnt matter that Erik is married to Sookie (a human) because in vampire eyes theirs was a lavender marriage. Maybe I should stay sober before reading these.
Thanks for a great analysis of the politics of vampires. IMO, Victor is itching to take over the Louisiana territories so that could work in Erik’s favor. Maybe Victor can be led to jump the gun on his ambitious take-over. If he succeeds, Erik only needs to take Victor out and not Felipe. Or if Victor is really ambitious and wants Nevada too, he can take out Felipe and again Erik only has to take out Victor to be King. If Victor doesn’t succeed, Felipe will take Victor out so it is a win-win situation for Erik. Erik may not have the man power, but he has the smarts and cunning of Machiavelli to pull something like this off.
Oh Serena, you got conspiracies spinning in my head! What if Amelia was forced to cast a spell on Fangtasia by her dad from Victor due to his failure -its the only way to get back at Eric for now. Or, maybe Eric purposely wants business down so Victor thinks he has the upperhand, when Eric still has money in other places? And what in the world was Victor’s meeting w/ Eric about in the beginning of DITF? Could that meeting have been the trigger for Victor’s failed attempt? Is there going to be any political repercussions for Eric killing his brother, if anybody found out because maybe Victor had spies watching Sookie?
Sam, until now, I thought of as a non character the last few books. But why does he want Sookie to go with him? His Jannalyn excuse seems lame and he could just go by himself. He doesnt have to drag Sookie along. I dont like the fact that there are alot of problems in Texas. I doubt there’s a link but, Basim was also from Houston and I dont know if his death fits into what happens at Sookie/Sams wedding trip.
I hope CH posts Chapter 1 soon, so it can give us more clues. Speculating is neverending.
Oh, Serena. I forgot to mention how funny your “Investigator” job description was. Kudos!
On the marriage topic… I thought sookies suggestion to sophie-anne was “why don’t you just name Andre the King of Arkansas and marry him”… so IMO A queen could not marry a shreiff. Also I thought I read something about a story being in the companion Sam’s brothers wedding? So that probably wont be in the 11 book I assume.. but It will impact the books in someway?
Oh my…
I didn’t know that Rhodes was in Michigan. I read Rhodes being on the Lake Michigan coast north of Chicago, Illinois.
I assumead that Razul was sent to Michigan as a spy becuase he is of Arabic decent and Dearborn, Michigan is the largest Arab community outside of the Middle East and he would blend in well there.
LMAO, whenever I read Russell Edgington I have to chuckle to myself because Russell married Bartlet Crowe in Rhodes, effectively making him Russell Crowe.
This is FANTASTIC, Serena!!!
Why thank you VikingLover. Its good to hear from you again, I hope things are well.
What a fab post, Serena. I truly feel like there is so much to fit into Dead Reckoning that my expectations are just getting higher and higher. I hope CH reads this blog and takes all these suggestions and ideas and uses them well (like somehow keeping Eric and Sookie together, at least for a while)!
So glad the site is back up and running too…I was about to have withdrawls…
Wow….that’s all i can say after reading this! I’m new to the site and I have to say, I’m impressed with everyone and everything that I have read. Never have I seen such wit, humor and intellegence before! This site has become one of my favorites! After reading the possibe upcoming situations that Eric and Sookie might face,I started thinking about how Eric and Freyda could know each other as well.For some reason i remembered a part in which Pam told Sookie in one of the books that Eric hasn’t had someone like you in a long time. I can’t remember which book. Does anyone else remember this? Anyways, what if Freyda could have been the one Pam was talking about? I always assumed that it was Pam while reading but now i’m starting to wonder who Eric’s other special person could’ve been.
[...] can’t discount Serena’s theory (outlined here and here) that the Big Bad Letter may have something to do with a political alliance with Freyda of [...]
[...] They’ll be discussing some of the ideas we’ve been kicking around here recently on the upcoming Sookie book Dead Reckoning – including Victor’s possible alliance with the water fae, and the possibility of a political marriage between Eric and Freyda. [...]
So now you read the book, how spot on were you!! What do you think will happen now??