Upon his arrival in the Shak’s camp, Gaori Kaolin, only son of the Duke of Kaolin and cousin of the Shak, met with the author to answer some of the readers’ most pressing questions. His answers were as follows:

Describe your home.

The Kaolin camp is in the southern mountains. From the tallest peak, you can see the movements of the imperial army to the east, west, and south for hundreds of miles. For this reason, our camp is one of the most strategically important for our people.

We live deep in the forest, next to the Kaolin falls. Our houses are built on stilts among the trees, with rope bridges running between them. I live in the biggest house, with my mother, father, and little cousin. We regularly host the rest of the community for get-togethers.

What are your family like?

Mother is very kind. She’s always making food for us, cheese flatbreads, roasted game, and honeyed fruit etc., and encouraging us to take it easy. She came here from another camp, and father was immediately smitten with her. I was born not long after, and she’s stayed in camp Kaolin ever since.

My father is the Duke of Kaolin, and therefore top dog around here. He’s always feigned illness to get me to take on more duties, since I was a young boy, to the point where I can’t tell if he’s playing or not anymore. Now he’s getting on a bit, he doesn’t need to employ such schemes anymore, but sometimes still does.

Both my parents dote on me a lot, but the true baby of our family is Rae, my little cousin. He had a complicated start in life. His mother (my auntie) died and his father remarried. Since then, my parents took him in. He’s smaller than me, and his health is more delicate, so I’ve always watched out for him. Now he’s grown, he can mostly fend for himself, but I still watch out for him out of habit.

What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you?

When I was thirteen, I ate some berries I had picked out in the forest. They didn’t taste bad so I thought it was fine and scarfed them all down. Next thing I knew I had fallen from my loft, and… made quite a mess of my bed… The only person who knows about it is Rae, who took me to the baths, took care of me, and cleaned up the mess.

Now a lot of time has passed, and I can tell the story with a laugh, but for a long time, I was mortified at the thought of anyone finding out.

When was the first time you fell in love?

I was thirteen. She was a dancer in a travelling troupe. Silky black hair and that outfit she wore… it was something else. She spent ten nights at our camp and no one could tear me away from any of her performances. I was too shy to speak to her, and she was quite a bit older than me. If I ever met her again though, I’d shoot my shot. What’s there to lose?

What’s your favourite colour?

Green! Mother says I look quite dashing in green.

What do you think others think of you?

Everyone knows how strong and dashing I am. But I wish they also knew my sensitive side. I can offer a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, words of support or guidance. I’m not only good for making jokes, I can be serious too!

Who do you trust the most? And why?

My cousin Rae. He’s not only good and honest to the bone, he also has severe trust issues and would never let a secret of mine slip by accident. I’m also his only friend, so there aren’t many he could betray me for anyway.

What is your most treasured possession?

My father’s short sword. He carved the sheaf himself when he was my age, and gave it to me as a bribe to get me to start doing his scouting missions for him.

If you could only take five things to a desert island, what would you take?

A girl with a bangin’ body, cute laugh, and naughty disposition.

The short sword I received from my father.

Something to gather water with.

A hen.

A rooster.

What does perfect happiness look like to you?

I’ve married my dream girl, and we’ve built our own tree-house right next to my parents’. We have four little ones, two boys, two girls. Rae still lives close by too. Everyday, Rae and I go out hunting, and I perform my father's duties well. In the evenings the whole family gets together for food and wine.