Caina vs. Callatas – personal loathing
One of the fun things about writing GHOST IN THE WINDS was that Caina and Callatas had such a level of personal contempt for each other, as especially shown in Chapter 17 of GHOST IN THE PACT.
I don’t think Caina had that with manyof her previous foes. She hated Maglarion, of course, and by the end she came to hate Sicarion as much as she had hated Maglarion. Caina also hated the Red Huntress, but she was also frightened of the Red Huntress, and its hard to feel contempt for someone who terrifies you.
With the Moroaica, by the end Caina felt a twisted sort of respect, mostly because their backgrounds were very similar. The Moroaica was on a centuries-long rampage of revenge, and Caina could understand that on some level.
But Maglarion and Sicarion and Kalgri were all looking out for themselves, without any pretensions to virtue. Callatas, though, insisted that he was making a better world, that he was doing not only the necessary thing but the right thing, and furthermore felt the need to justify himself at length. This absolutely disgusted Caina. Callatas, for his part, thought Caina was an archaism, a fool clinging to an old world, and was infuriated that she couldn’t understand that he was doing the right thing (or so he thought). That meant they couldn’t stand each other on a personal level.
So as a writer, writing their scenes together was great fun! 🙂
-JM
*SPOILERS BELOW*
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I found it amusing and creepy that when Callatas regenerated he began lusting after Caina. Even at the end, he wanted her to join the “new humanity” as his consort. It was unexpected and I did not foresee those kind of effects of the Elixir. But Callatas did have some respect for Caina despite the fact he hated her, so it did make some sense, since Callatas was always an idealist.
What I actually expected was the Red Huntress lusting after Kylon instead – like some twisted form of sadistic lust, in her obsession to kill Caina in front of him or reminding him again and again how he failed his wife, or her constant replaying in her mind how he screamed when she killed Thalastre. I thought she’d use her new face – that looked like Caina – against Kylon in some way. It would have been another interesting hurdle for Kylon and Caina to face.
But all is well that ends well and it is fitting that Kylon had that final duel with her. 🙂
That was a fun part to write. 🙂 I asked myself what was the creepiest and most off-putting thing Callatas could do, and having him start to lust for Caina seemed like an excellent candidate.
I considered having Kalgri develop a thing for Kylon as well, but I thought that seemed too easy. That, and it didn’t really fit Kalgri’s personality. I suspect she would have slept with Cassander if she was going to sleep with anyone at all, and instead she orchestrated his death at Caina’s hand. Physical lust had become boring for her. Murder was the real thrill.
” … what was the creepiest and most off-putting thing Callatas could do … having him start to lust for Caina seemed like an excellent candidate”
— Very true! That was the creepiest thing he could do 🙂 I thought for a moment, Caina would use that to her advantage in defeating Callatas, but I’m glad she didn’t have to.
I guess the reason why I thought Kalgri would develop a thing for Kylon was because I actually misread that portion in Ghost in the Hunt, “… every time [regeneration] happened, Kalgri gained a new face, new features. Her personality changed as well. Once she had come out of it with an insatiable appetite for men … ” and misunderstood that to mean that, that was the current personality she had with her Caina-Claudia face. My Bad. (I have a bad habit of skipping words in a sentence when I get too excited about what I’m reading) 🙂
So when Kalgri returned in the epilogue of Ghost in the Inferno, I actually thought she and Cassander would sate each other in that way, while simultaneously manipulating each other to kill Caina. Of course, I expected the huntress to outmaneuver Cassander and kill him and then she’d set her sights on Kylon.
But I’m glad she didn’t end up using her Caina-Claudia face to ruin Caina in the same way Sicarion did when he had that Mask. I felt so bad for Caina when that happened.
All in all, the entire Ghost Exile series was amazing! As much as I loved the first Ghost series, the Exile series was even better (in my opinion). I love the fast-paced action, battle scenes, the intrigue and plot twists, and of course the characters (I hope to still see some of Morgant in the next books. I like how he challenges Caina and Kylon from time to time)
I can’t wait for Ghost Night! 🙂
It’s good to know the actions of the characters weren’t completely predictable. 🙂
It would generally be out of character for Caina to use seduction as a tactic. She started down that path in CHILD OF THE GHOSTS, and it would have been a logical one for her to take, but it blew up badly for her with Alastair Corus, so she hasn’t done that much since. It would have been difficult to do so with Callatas because of her immense personal loathing for him. I don’t think Callatas would have been dumb enough to fall for it – it’s one thing to seduce a thirty-year-old man, and another thing to seduce a 200 year old sorcerer who understands perfectly that his attraction came from the Elixir Rejuvenata.
After GHOST IN THE HUNT, Kalgri looked a lot like Caina, but not identical. I think anyone looking at both Caina and Kalgri simultaneously would assume they were sisters with a strong resemblance born only a year or so apart. So Kalgri could have gone on an “impersonation murder spree”, but it would have been harder, and she wouldn’t have derived much tactical advantage from it.
“It’s good to know the actions of the characters weren’t completely predictable. :)”
—– Absolutely! 🙂 I can’t wait for next year for the next books! 🙂