Duality on Taldain

[Amaror]

Despite it's somewhat undercooked nature, I really, really enjoyed the prose version of White Sand. (Though not the graphic novel, eugh.)

What I specificially really enjoyed about the book was the theme of duality that ran throughout the whole book and both it's world and characters. Most parts of both the world and the characters come in multiple separater parts that are often not only different but opposites from each other.

One side of the planet is completely in dark, while the other side is completely in light all the time.

Water sustains and powers the magic that uses sand as it's central component, yet it also disolves and kills even the most powerfull creatures that sustain themselves on said sand.

And, most importantly, that duality also translates over to pretty much every single more important character in the book.

Kenton is torn between his rebellious nature and his newfound responsibility. Khriss struggles from the difference between her scholarly, comfortable self and her need for leadership and adventure. Ais struggles between his own morality and the degrees of his religion. Eric wants to be free of responsibility and can't compromise it with the trained, dutifull person he was raised to be. Delious switches between the genius merchant and tactician and his drunk, useless persona for getting revenge. Gevin/Nilto switches from the noble-looking bastard to a horrible-looking responsible and caring person. Baon manages his loyalty to Scythe and his dutifull protection of Khriss. 

And all Characters get fairly different results. Both Kenton and Khriss grow from the experience and recognize that they can combine their opposite desires to become a stronger person. Eric gets it the worst. Mainly because in my opinion he doesn't accept that he can be both. He crushes his jovial and happy self in order to be responsible and before tried to supress his abilities and power in order to be carefree. He doesn't try to find a middle way. It's why he talks to himself. He firmly splits his personality into two beings, because he doesn't get that he could combine them into something that could work. 

I guess this is not some sort of deep analysis or anything, but I found it very fun to discover while reading how this duality represented itself in so many aspects of the book. Despite being unpolished, it's truly and great book in my opinion and I certainly hope that it someday gets the proper novel release it deserves.