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@this-is-not-an-alien

thank you so much for reading! It’s a complex and delicate subject. Slavery and war are both very controversial topics. The question of guilt or innocence is also a difficult one (ultimately, only the Lord can determine true innocence) and I think this situation blurs the line between innocent and guilty in a stark manner.

She was practically born into slavery and forced into prostitution; we would say she had no choice, but there were choices – even if the immediate consequences would have been bad – for instance attempting to flee or run or taking the masters punishment rather than obeying a command to do something she knew was evil. No one would have readily advised her to do disobey in a way that would cause her harm, but those options did exist to her. Then the issue of the heart goes with that. (again, Lord knows the heart and judges both the innocent and the unjust.)

Then, with the general, he was ordered by the king to take the capital, when the blood curse affected the entire capital, plus every living vaelintrien (the enemy). The curse forced the enemy into a berserk mode where they would not stop until Hanniumm and his men were killed. Self-defense is justified, but many would debate whether it is still justified if it comes down to genocide. He did have a choice – to let them win, but that would mean letting them end his own life. It’s a bigger gray area, in some ways, than the slavery issue. Is it right to take so many lives, just to protect your own? True, they attacked first, and continued to attack first – but due to the curse, it isn’t really their fault either. But again, that’s out of Hanniumm’s control… We could say what we would do in that situation (though none of us really know what we actually do unless we’ve been placed in a similar situation) but even if we wouldn’t do the same thing, would we be able to say for certainty that our choice was the right one or that Hanniumm’s was the wrong one?

But still, even if there was very little choice in the matter for both of them, evil actions were taken. Innocent people were slain (even if they did attack first, they would be considered innocent, for they did not attack out of their own free will), and prostitution occurred (even if it was forced as a command to a slave).

Some people balk at the idea that evil doesn’t necessarily equal guilty, but even the Lord Jesus said to the pharisees – “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9:41). We see a small toddler hit someone or steal a toy from their hand, and we tell them no, but do we see that evil act as evidence of the child’s guilt? Most do not, for the child is not old enough to understand the differences of right and wrong (though some do; however, yet again, only the Lord truly knows).

With it being a fantasy world, I don’t have the easy connection to Jesus’ saving grace (though I plan on tying it in in a special way later in the series) however, I hope to use this book, not just as a love story, but to show the idea that you cannot seek forgiveness from others if you do not first find the ability to forgive yourself. (as the Bible says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15 – – if you don’t forgive your own sins, how can the Father forgive your sins?)

That’s the big motif behind my fantasy romance novel…

but im really really glad you liked it.