In an attempt to pay homage to a series of books I love (and one character in particular), I thought it might be a nice idea to write about the character Imriel de la Courcel from the Kushiel book series by Jacqueline Carey.
First, a little bit of background information (this will undoubtedly contain some spoilers). Imriel is the son of Melisande Shahrizai, a beautiful woman and deadly traitor to the realm of Terre d'Ange. It is important to note that the fantasy world Carey created is essentially an alternate reality Earth with the map intact. The main difference is in some of the social tendencies in the varying countries, their names, and the addition of some magic to satisfy the fantasy aspect of the series. Make no mistake though, the series is not really about the magic but about the characters and how they eventually find peace with their god Elua's most blessed precept: Love as thou wilt. The premise of the series hit home with me in a big way since, below the logic and some cynicism, I am actually a huge romantic at heart. That, and clearly this sets the stage for some fantastic characters with real emotions. Fast-forwarding a little bit, the series delivers in a big way. I should note that, for anyone thinking about reading this, there is a lot of erotic content in the novels but it all has real purpose and the focus is more on the characters than any of the sex per say.
There were many characters in the series that I felt were particularly engaging but one stood out in my mind more than any other: Imriel de la Courcel. To begin with, Imriel has endured much trauma, having been kidnapped by slave traders at a young age and sold into the possession of an evil mad man and his mystical cult who worship Angra Mainyu, the lord of darkness (or evil in this case). To that effect, Imriel has seen unspeakable horrors, much of which were sexually based. Eventually he is rescued from Darsanga, the country in which this cult dwelt, by Phedre and Joscelin who are two heroes of Terre d'Ange. The second trilogy of books is told from Imriel's perspective and sees him deal with his emotional issues and position as a Prince of Terre d'Ange while finding his place in the world. This leads to him discovering and uniting with his true love by the end of the series.
Imriel is a character who feels deeply, which is something I can identify with. He has a self-awareness about him that plagues him at times like a guilty conscience when he believes he is not as good as he can be. He strives to be good and to do the right thing and feels intense guilt when he does not adhere to his own moral code. Imriel is slow to trust others after his experiences in Darsanga and is understandably self-absorbed, frequently plagued with nightmares of the events that befell him there.
One scene in the fourth book really sticks out in my mind. Imriel had made friends with Eamonn, a huge kid about his age who is also a prince in his land. However, Eamonn is vastly different from Imriel. He lives a relatively carefree life and has a very optimistic outlook. One day, when Imriel and Eamonn were staying at Imriel's summer residence of Montreve, the two find themselves in a local tavern chatting up some of the village girls. Eamonn manages to successfully get one such girl, Jeanette, to sleep with him after some more or less witty banter and several cups of wine while Imriel presumably remained in the main area of the tavern drinking. They returned later with grins on their faces. Before Imriel left he asked Jeanette, "Why him? I mean...I just wonder, that's all." She responds by stating, "Because he is happy." She then goes on to tell him that she has thought about hooking up with him, hoping that she would be the one who could pierce his brooding shell, but realizes that she is simple and could never hope to do so. This is particularly revealing as it shows that Imriel notices there is a distinct difference between himself and Eamonn. He might not have been aware of exactly what the difference was but discovers that it is the fact that he is not happy, whereas Eamonn is.
The thing I love the most about Imriel is that he struggles. It might be the way he broods over every little detail, but everything seems to be an uphill battle for him. But he fights and he will not stop fighting until he can make something better of himself.
It's a breath of fresh air to run into a character that is so real and so heartbreakingly human. For those of you wondering, he eventually does end up being happy, although he goes through a lot of unpleasantness to get there.
Having written this on a whim and without a plan, I know that I'm not doing the series or the character justice by the way that I've described things. Regardless, it means something to me because it makes me think and makes me compare myself to see how real I am - on the outside and on the inside. This is an introspective blog. Who else would write an introspective blog than someone who's a little self-absorbed, someone who broods a lot? I'm not afraid to admit that I do. This is probably obvious by this point, but I draw a lot of similarities between myself and Imriel. Clearly I've not been to Darsanga and have not and will not have even the slightest amount of misfortune in my life that he has, but this character feels on a scale that parallels my own. We might not feel all the same things, but we do feel them quite deeply. I think that's why I enjoyed reading about his adventures so much.
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