C.A. Morley – Author

The queen is dead. Long live the king.

Many of us were saddened at the news of Queen Elizabeth’s passing. She was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, and her legacy is hugely impressive. As an epic fantasy author, it’s been exciting to watch the pomp and pageantry surrounding the Queen’s death and her son’s ascension to the throne.

People die in real life and in fantasy. I have a funeral scene in Wayfinders: The Novice (Book 1) for a member of the Livanian Royal Family. I’ll share a snippet below and omit names to avoid spoilers.

When […]’s body had been returned, […] hadn’t understood, at first, why it was only his. How she’d wished she could’ve seen […] one last time to say goodbye. But when she and […] had gone outside to the enormous pavilion erected in the courtyard, she realized exactly why. In spite of the banks of flowers piled high, the strongly scented herbs scattered over the stones, and the scented candles burning at the head and foot of the sealed box, the miasma of death still lingered. They weren’t going to look at […]’s face one last time. And knowing that he was inside that awful box in such a state made his death, no, their deaths, even more horrible and unfair.

Only one day had been granted for the court and the people to pay their respects. After that, the massive casket had been buried in the royal burial ground. And, to honor the other Livanians killed that day, there had been wooden plaques inscribed with their names and dates set up along one side of the pavilion. A portrait or bust for each of the deceased nobles and merchants… had also been on display. But the soldiers and servants had none. Their families would have to content themselves with empty graves and fading memories.

Wayfinders: The Novice (Book 1) by C.A. Morley

There’s a certain amount of bleakness surrounding the pomp in my above snippet. We were recently in Vienna and got to visit the burial place of the Habsburg Emperors (Kapuzinergruft) where the splendor of the imperials is contrasted by the grim sarcophagi. The symbols and inscriptions on the sarcophagi speak about their lives, death, and hope of an afterlife. Below are some of my photos taken this past July (2022). Amanda (my youngest child) is in one of the pics, wearing a yellow dress.