Welcome to the seventh stop in the #exploreleira blog tour where we’re celebrating the (almost) one year book birthday for Songkeeper! It is the second book in the Songkeeper Chronicles, which tells the story of a girl who can hear the song that created the world.
If this is your first encounter with the blog tour, we are continuing a series of alphabet posts looking at the world and characters and magical creatures of the Songkeeper Chronicles.
Today, we’re looking at the letter G for … George Eregius Waltham III.
G is for George Eregius Waltham III, the yellow cat
Cats in fantasy have always been some of my favorite characters. Because they have so much personality in and of themselves, transforming them into fantasy creatures— often with the ability to speak— allows for so much more awesomeness to happen.
As a general rule, cats are concerned mainly with the most important thing in the entire world: themselves. Humans are their minions, existing only to satisfy their needs. Cats frequently come and go as they please. Unhindered by loyalty or a desire to gain their master’s pleasure … because they have no master. They are remarkably self-satisfied creatures, and will often show off their hunting prowess, not because they want to please you but because they are simply so delighted with their own awesomeness.
And you can never, ever quite tell what a cat is thinking.
A cat serenely posed in a patch of sunlight may simply be napping and reflecting upon the many fine qualities of sunshine … or calmly planning ways to murder you in your sleep. And there is no earthly way to tell which …
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule—my own cat, Finn, being one of them. (I’m not sure he even knows he is a cat.) He is cuddly. A perfect big fluff ball with a purr like a lawn mower. He is ridiculously fond of scaling your body like a tree so he can ride on your shoulder. He is slightly overfond of eating. And he likes car rides and tries to steal my coffee. (Weird, right?)
(Here we see Finn’s progression from a little stray kitten curled up in the backseat on the ride home to a ginormous fluff ball who wants my coffee.)
But as a general rule, cats tend to hold themselves in the highest regard and look upon the world through a unique cat-shaped set of lenses … which just makes them oh so fun to write and read about in fantasy novels.
And George Eregius Waltham III is no different.
“Well, that went marvelously, didn’t it?”
Birdie jumped at the unexpected voice, knocking over an unfastened stack of crates, and scrambled away. A yowl set her skin tingling, then a fluffy yellow face poked around the side of a barrel and glared at her.
“Can’t you watch what you’re doing? Nearly broke my tail. Imagine! Me, George Eregius Waltham the third, wandering around with a crooked tail! Horrors. Unthinkable horrors.”
Unthinkable horrors. Oh dear George! He makes me grin every time he spouts some new, over the top, drama-infused bit of nonsense. I imagine he has a very refined, highborn British accent that only serves to make it more amusing.
George winked. “That’s why I’m the master and you’re the pupil. Hmm, master of the Songkeeper. I rather like the sound of that.”
“And what makes you the master?
“Simply because, my dear girl, I know more than you do.” The cat curled a paw over his mouth to conceal a yawn. “And in this splendid world of ours, information is currency.”
Since writing George, I have since stumbled across several fictional cats who have impressed me with their incredible portrayal of catness. (Not to be confused with Katniss, hero of the Hunger Games, lol.) These are some of my favorites:
- Eanrin, Tales of Goldstone Woods by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Nope, there’s no comparison for this one … Eanrin is pure awesomeness, and I know that anyone who has read the series will agree.)
- Llyon, Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
- Fennel, Fool’s Errand and Golden Fool by Robin Hobb
Who are some of your favorite fantasy cats?
Trivia Question: How does George introduce himself to Birdie when they first meet?
- incredibly wise and strikingly handsome
- wild rover and fierce adventurer
- master of all awesomeness
- traveler extraordinaire
Want to find out more about George? Check out the links below to purchase the books:
Amazon: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira
Barnes and Nobles: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira
Eep yes, George had some brilliant lines! :D I really did love his character. (He set me on some very confused/double-taking tracks at times because of his sheer complexity and depth :P)
I do like George. He always makes me smile, lol.
George is awesome. Cats generally are. Though his bit of twist at the end certainly threw me for a loop.
As for the trivia . . . I’m guessing #4.
Threw me for a loop too, let me tell you! ;)
Cats are great! Our neighbors used to have an enormous orange and white tabby named Max, who would come running for cuddles any time we opened the door :) Finn sounds like a great cat!
I like George a lot, though he is a most perplexing character (twists upon twists! Not unlike the dreaded crooks in a cat’s tail…). His pompous attitude was very entertaining. As for the trivia, I’m also going with #4.
Cats are pretty fun! And yes, Finn is great. He’s so funny. Always makes me laugh. He’s not happy unless he’s touching you somehow, whether that’s curling up around your feet if you’re standing, or standing against your leg, or climbing up to sit on your shoulders. Lol.