Crossposted to Fitz and the Fool + discussion
The main elements for any future Fitz/Fool plots:
People
Fool - The sad fact is, the Fool’s purpose as a character (and as a Prophet) has been fulfilled. There is no real reason to bring him up again in a significant way. So unless Hobb comes up with a whole new plotline set in his own homeland, I don’t think we’ll see him again. We all miss him, and Hobb said she missed him too. But missing him isn’t enough of a reason to bring him back. He is too precious a character, and I don’t want to see him dragged back into cameo appearances simply because we want to see him again.
Fitz - Similar to the Fool, Fitz’s purpose has been fulfilled. He was given a life which he can now live quietly out of the way. I believe, however, that unlike the Fool, Fitz can still be dragged into the plot (kicking and screaming, as usual) as a major character. There is one simple reason: he is still a catalyst. And he is still attached to the royal house of Farseer. Things seemed to be running fine without Fitz’s involvement at the end of FF, but should Chade expire, guess who will be called upon to replace him.
Chade - If we are ever to find out more about the Skill, Chade’s machinations and reckless use of the magic (to keep himself from aging) provide a hell of an opening for any future revelations. He could be the Dorian Gray of the Elderling universe.
Prilkop - I find him very interesting. And I think there is much, much more to him than meets the eye. I’d love it if he turned out to be a villain (or at least a badass). I feel he had serious sway over the Fool, and influenced his decision to leave.
Subjects
Whites - the school for White Prophets is obviously a powerful institution. I wonder just how much power it wields in Clerres and the rest of the land. And exactly how high up are the Whites in that (I’m assuming) political food chain?
The Catalyst - a.k.a. Fitz. Both Shrewd and Chade - somewhat insensitively, but very accurately – referred to Fitz as a weapon several times in the story. And he is a weapon, and a double-edged one at that. Even the Fool used him as a sort of tool. (Minor note: personally I don’t think the Fool ever used / had any power over Fitz. He tried, but couldn’t control him as a Prophet should be able to.) And the thing about weapons is that you don’t leave them lying around. I really, really wonder just how dangerous a Prophet-less Catalyst is. Another interesting thing about Fitz is that as a Catalyst he was much more powerful than his Prophet. We all know what happened at the end of FF...
Religion - Religion was first addressed by Hobb in a significant way in Liveship Traders. What I found most interesting was the conflict between the religion of Sa and other minor branches of that religion (Wintrow almost got beaten to a pulp because of that at some point in the story). It was also mentioned in FF that the priests of Sa ended up denouncing the White Prophet ‘religion’ as heresy and White Prophets as liars and freaks of nature. A religious war / conflict seems like the next logical step. I want to see the priests of Sa coming down on the remnants of the ‘White’ following like a ton of bricks. And I want them after the blood of the latest White Prophet.
Politics - At the end of FF it looked like the whole Elderling universe was heading into an age of political stability and relative piece. Personally, I’d really like to see Six Duchies getting friendly with, not only Bingtown, but Jamaillia and the whole of Cursed Shores… But especially Jamaillia. After all, Jamaillia is the only real point of contact with Clerres.
Places
Chalced - Sooner or later there is always a war with Chalced. I think a war, or at least some ass-kicking, is really overdue in that region. I think a conflict with Chalced will bring Six Duchies, Bingtown, Pirate Islands and Jamillia closer together.
Clerres - This is the one place that Hobb absolutely HAS TO write about. It’s the most intriguing subjects, and the one with the most potential.
Jamaillia - The only real point of connection between Fool’s homeland and ‘our’ continent. Also, Jamailla is the only place with an existing following of White Prophet ‘religion’.
Bingtown - What I want to know is this: Did the Fool stop by Bingtown to say goodbye to his ‘other friends’ on his way to Jamaillia? I reckon no, he didn’t. So do Paragon and Co know the true identity if Amber? Does Jek know that Lord Golden is dead (supposedly there are only 3 people in Six Duchies that know that he survived)? And I want Fitz to meet Paragon. I really do.
My (drug-induced) vision of the future.
Recently, I had an operation and was deeply and thoroughly knocked out for several hours. While under the influence of the wonderful drugs, I had a dream in which the ship that was carrying the Fool and Prilkop home was attacked off the coast of Spice Islands. (I’m not even joking about that. I actually have Robin Hobb dreams. I’m THAT much of a geek.) It was unclear who attacked the ship or why, but nearly everyone was killed, and the goods the ship was carrying were destroyed. As a result of that attack, the trade between Jamaillia and Clerres stopped for several years, and the only rout from ‘our land’ to Fool’s homeland was closed indefinitely.
So, yes, in my vision of Fool’s future, he is pursued by anonymous foes. Maybe someone in his homeland doesn’t want a White Prophet to return. Maybe someone from Jamailia doesn’t want him to undermine their power by telling his story to the world (I’m looking at you, priests of Sa). All I know is, I don’t want the rest of his life to be a smooth sailing. I don’t think it can be. He is living outside his time.
I don’t think Fitz would ever go looking for the Fool. If they do meet again, it would be purely accidental. So either the Fool comes back to Six Duchies/Jamaillia/etc (very unlikely) or Fitz goes to Clerres. The latter option is very interesting.
How does Fitz end up in Fool’s homeland? I think that the disruption of trade with Clerres upset many people, Bingtown traders in particular. An investigation of sorts ensues. Six Duchies gets drawn in. Chade can’t travel outside Six Duchies and leave Kettricken alone. Fitz is a skill Solo, trained spy and, honestly, it’s about damn time he did something useful. Thus, Fitz gets to travel and, eventually, ends up in Clerres.
Will he leave his family like that, you ask me? If he thinks it’s a short-term visit to a neighboring country, he will. And Fitz being Fitz, he gets into some sort of mess over there that takes him further and further away from home.
I can take it further and say that Fitz gets to Clerres via Spice Islands. And he gets to Spice Islands by Paragon.
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