#Immakuk & Ennikar

[iosagol]

"I thought we were Immakuk and Ennikar."

#Thick as thieves #the queen's thief #Megan Whalen Turner #Costis Ormentiedes #Kamet King-namer #Costis & Kamet #Immakuk & Ennikar #Queen's Thief fanart #Only took me six years to get around to it :D #Two sillies #Alcohol markers #ATTOLIA ATTOLIA

[worldsentwined]

Immakuk and Ennikar they anointed each other with the oil of the gods made only for the gods

So a few weeks ago @shaelit asked if anyone had drawn that scene, and then the request got shared in the QT discord server and I was bullied into drawing it lovingly reminded that I have the ability to draw. Anyway, it was high time I did some art from these myths, the Immakuk and Ennikar stories are my favorite in the series and this one is a particular favorite.

#my art #the queen's thief #queen's thief #immakuk and ennikar #immakuk #ennikar #I don't even think I've seen any art of these two ever so I had an interesting time finding references for them

[artino-c]

once again thinking about the fact that even though kamet's narrative (and QOA) presents his relationship with nahuseresh as this central, all-consuming force in his life, when gen says "i know you wanted your chance at the emperor's side, even if it meant your death would come with his," he's talking about naheelid, whom we still know next to nothing about

#tqt #queen's thief #the only thing we know is that kamet believed he was worth dying for #did he ever feel that way about nahuseresh? i'm actually not sure we know #i think about this a lot in the context of the immakuk and ennikar poems #kamet wanted to be the friend-advisor of the mede emperor! i.e. literally what ennikar is!

[cartograffiti]

Fandom: The Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner - An ongoing series of poem fanfictions. They can be read in any order and do not depend on each other. These were written as treats during the 2022 and 2023 Hamiathes's Gift Exchanges.

A Star Fell at Ianna-Ir A newly discovered tablet telling an adventure of the Medean heroes Immakuk and Ennikar, translated by Baron Pheris Erondites the Younger.

From Gen to Irene: Three American cinquains Three short romantic poems.

Acrostic for a Spy in Roa A poem and its introduction in a collection, photocopied onto a sheet of A4 paper.

Ursa Minor to Ursa Major A rediscovered poem from the juvenilia of Pheris Erondites the Younger.

From Irene to Gen: Three tanka poems Three short romantic poems written in-character.

From Sophos to Gen: A double tetractys A poem about friendship and swimming.

From Relius to Irene: Two limericks Two short poems reflecting on life post-KoA.

These fics were posted in 2022 and 2023. I'm sharing them now because I want my Tumblr to have a nicely organized link to each of my fics. Some I've shared with such inconsistent tags I can't find the links myself, and many I've never blogged about at all!

#SpaceJackalope #fanfiction #fic can be so much more than just prose! #I'm really grateful that there's an enthusiastic audience for poetry too #'A Star Fell at Ianna-Ir' is probably the best thing I've ever written #Queen's Thief #QT #Ennikar & Immakuk #Eugenides #Attolia Irene #Costis Ormentiedes #Kamet e dai Annux #Pheris Erondites #Sophos #Relius

[stitchlingbelle]

Ok so I’m not done talking about Moira’s Pen and Gen and Irene’s kids.

Because I really don’t think it’s a tragedy that they didn’t end up “A King and his Thief”.

First off, I do not think “Immakuk and Ennikar and the Gates of Heaven” would have been a “story of an old king that ends well” to Gen if he truly had lost both his children and regretted his life and choices regarding them.

Secondly, Gen tried to convince Irene to leave with him, multiple times.

“Relius, he hates being king.”

Do you think Gen and Irene would force their children into lives they would hate?

“You have offered me escape from the cesspit of my family and this court.”

I think Gen especially has always excelled at thinking outside of the available options, and when cornered, has elected to cut the knot rather than give in. He gave Sophos the gun.

He gave Dite his freedom. Why wouldn’t he do the same for his own son?

#eugenides #mwt #queen's thief #Accidental Pirate King Sophos #Accidental Pirate King Hector #bet that kid got into all kinds of trouble #moira's pen

[tanoraqui]

Trick or treat! Queen's Thief series or Spellcoats please?

This is a great combination because one of my favorite pet headcanons is that these series take place on different continents in the same world. The vibes just match, you know? The themes of real people becoming history and legends, the amount of fantasy in the fantasy settings (very little, really, and both ambling toward industrial revolutions). The way the gods do and do not interact with and relate to humans; how the older gods are more nature-based and the younger more human. Eugenides the god could so be an Undying of Dalemark, as could Immakuk and Ennikar.

[Tanaqui voice] “Go to bed, Duck.”

#ask meme #nimblermortal #queen’s thief #hi what the FUCK tags is tumblr suggesting when I type ‘queen’s’ #those are not my tags #dalemark quartet

[kareenvorbarra]

The Sidosians, the Medes, and the History of Ianna-Ir

I wrote a post a while ago where I compiled all the different demonyms and other descriptive words that the books use to describe the Medes. This post is about a different group who are not mentioned nearly as often: the Sidosians.

There are only three textual mentions of the Sidosians in the entire series (if you know of another one please tell me!)

"It’s very old," the queen said with a smile. "This was an Attolian megaron, a fortified room on a hilltop, when your emperor's present palace was an empty plot of land in the Sidosians' territory."

The Queen of Attolia (ch 14)

He taught me to write with a pen as well as with chalk, and one day he taught me numbers—not the marks I already knew, but Sidosian numerals.

The Return of the Thief (vol 1 ch 8)

Not since Nussam led his forces across the isthmus to conquer the Sidosian empire had the world seen an army that size.

The Return of the Thief (vol 2 ch 1)

From these, we know that the Sidosians controlled Ianna-Ir before the Medes did, and that they invented the number system currently used in the Little Peninsula. That's pretty much it.

However, I get the impression from the books that the area around Ianna-Ir has a history very similar to that of ancient Mesopotamia: a region inhabited for thousands of years and controlled by various culturally-related empires. The Mede Empire seems to be the most recent of these, though it is clearly very well-established and has been around for a long time. Kamet's map from Thick as Thieves gives us a hint that the aforementioned Nussam from the other side of the isthmus was also the Mede ruler who conquered the Sidosians:

On this map, there is a city called Sidusia on the river, between Ianna-Ir and Iannis. If we assume that Sidusia is related somehow to the Sidosians, they probably originated in this general area. On the other hand, there is only one region labeled "Mede," on the opposite side of the isthmus from Ianna-Ir and Sidusia. This makes me think that the Medes originally came from the other side of the isthmus, and that the area around Ianna-Ir was not originally part of the Mede homeland.

(Note that Gitta's map does label the Ianna River region "Mede," as well as the region to the west of the isthmus, but it's a later map made by someone who is probably much less familiar with Mede history and geography than Kamet. I'm guessing that the label is meant to indicate that the area has been part of the Mede Empire for a long time. Gitta's map also has a smaller regional label of "Sidosia" to the southeast of Ianna-Ir, but there is no city called either Sidosia or Sidusia. The scale and orientation Gitta's map is also different enough from Kamet's that it can be difficult to compare the two.)

Kamet has also added a parenthetical label beneath Sidusia that reads "The New Palace." There is no reference made to this palace in the book itself, or anywhere else in the series that I know of, and it's obviously not the primary palace of the Mede emperor, which we know is in Ianna-Ir. The New Palace might be an ongoing contruction project of the emperor's, or a smaller palace that was completed more recently where he sometimes stays. My silly pet theory is that the New Palace was the name of the Sidosian ruler's residence at the time of the Mede conquest, and everyone just kept calling it the New Palace even after the Medes built their own palace in their new capital city.

While the emperor's palace in Ianna-Ir may be relatively new, the city itself is much older. The region around the current Mede capital of Ianna-Ir has a cultural continuity that predates the Medes, and possibly also the Sidosians. Kamet tells us in Thick as Thieves that Immakuk was the king of Ianna-Ir, and the stories about him and Ennikar appear in a number of ancient texts:

"You said you were reciting from the first tablet," said the Attolian. "There are more than a hundred in the temple of Anet alone," I said. "No one knows how many there are altogether. Scholars argue about it. Some of the tablets are retellings of other tablets, only differing in style. Sometimes parts of the story change."

The current Mede gods are also much older than the empire: Anet, Shesmegah, Tenep, Ne Malia, Prokip and the Queen of the Night all appear or are mentioned in the Immakuk and Ennikar stories, and all of them are worshipped by the present-day Medes.

The tablets were written in Ensur, a language that is still studied but no longer seems to be spoken. Kamet says that Ensur is "from before the Mede," but doesn't specify whether or not there were other dominant languages in between. It's possible that Ensur was the language of the Sidosians, but the words sound unrelated enough that the speakers of Ensur might have belonged to a group that controlled the region before the Sidosians.

Immakuk is a fairly a clear parallel to Gilgamesh, who was king of the Sumerian city of Uruk, and the in-universe history of the Immakuk stories maps very closely onto what we know about Gilgamesh. The oldest stories about him are written in Sumerian, but the first combined version of the Epic of Gilgamesh is written in Akkadian, the language of the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires that controlled Mesopotamia (including Sumer) at various times. Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia all had a great deal of cultural overlap with each other, including gods and writing systems. Perhaps Ianna-Ir and Sidusia were once ancient city-states like Uruk and Akkad, and it was the Sidosians who happened to be in power when the Medes arrived.

Even though the Medes are likely not the original inhabitants of the city, it seems clear to me that Ianna-Ir, its gods, and its heroes are deeply entrenched in Mede culture by the events of the series, even if the Medes had to cross the isthmus to get there. They might have had different gods when they conquered the Sidosians, and gradually adopted the religion of their new empire's heartland. It's also possible that Mede culture had long been influenced by the ancient stories of their neighbors and that they already worshipped some of the same gods. Given the history of ancient Mesopotamian religion, the second option might even be more likely.

#queen's thief #meta and such #this one turned out longer than i thought it would and it's a lot of speculation #i had fun with it though!

[callester]

Queen's Thief × History

A compilation of snippets from Queen's Thief series that reminds me of the world's historical records upon reading it.

Old gods and New gods of Sounis

》Titans & Olympians

Hespira's Tale

》Hades and Persephone's Myth

Sacred Mountain's Erruption

》Mount Vesuvius

Immakuk and Ennikar's Tale

》Epic of Gilgamesh

Mede's War Elephants

》Hannibal

Source: Queen's Thief series by @meganwhalenturner

Feel free to continue down the list with your point of view, while anticipating the release of Moira's Pen 😁

#queen's thief #megan whalen turner #the thief #queen of attolia #a conspiracy of kings #thick as thieves #return of the thief #history

[if-one-of-us-falls]

Moira's Pen stories/ entries in order of how much I loved them

Burning Down the House of Kallicertes - what a masterpiece. So short, so cutting.

In the Queen's Prison - partially for the irenides feels but mostly because the angst hurts so good

Alyta's Missing Earring - more irenides feels, and as someone in the tag said Gen feels so human there.

Knife Dance - that part with the two hands? chills.

The End of Eddis - this story straight out murdered me. It was done very well but I'm so angry I can't place it higher.

The Princess and the Pastry Chef - baby Irene broke my heart

Breia's Earrings - I was hoping for a story like that to demonstrate what we were told about Gen's childhood. Also I'm sad for Stenides

Wineshop - I loved the subtlety of this one. It was very well written.

The Watch Takes the Thief - very amusing. Almost feels like it should have been in book 1, but got cut to make sure the readers properly underestimate Gen.

Eddis Goes Camping - baby Helen my beloved. I loved the ending.

The Cook and the King of Attolia - a true missing scene. It was very cute

Eddis's Earrings - funny! I sent it to my friend to try to entice her to read the rest

Gitta - more and more questions and the neat happy ending spoiled. Also it's bold of them to call another country "backwards" while arranging a marriage for a 13 year old girl. But the emotion was there

News from the Palace - it was cute. I liked the kids and I liked that Pheris is getting the respect he deserves and that other people learned to sign, but I'm confused about Kamet and Cosits' family situation. I really hoped to get some closure for them here and I don't feel like we got that.

Ina and Eurydice Borrow a Beehive - cute.

Envoy - wasn't this one part of ACoK itself? but still, solid

The Destruction of Hamiathes's Gift - I feel like I missed something there and might have to reread it. I didn't really get the point of Gen and Attolia staring at each other the entire time, as this is pre QoA. But I enjoyed the vibe and Attolia's description of Gen.

The Games of Kings - great prose in this one but also made me kind of uncomfortable. not sure why. I don't mind the implication of them being bi, and the remarks about "robbing the cradle" seemed joking, but something just felt deeply uncomfortable.

Music To Delight The Ear - cute, and makes a lot of sense. I loved Ion's small role in this story.

The River Knows - not much to say, but I liked it

Melheret's Earring - another one where the emotion was there. Even ambassadors of evil empires love their wives

The Arrival - ??? didn't really care about this one. We already knew Laela was freed.

Immakuk and Ennikar and the Gates of Heaven - it was ok I guess but tbh I found all the I&E stories kind of boring. Their style grates on me

I also want to say, from the bottom of my heart, where is Sophos???

#the queen's thief #moira's pen #moira's pen spoilers

[bellaroles]

Thoughts on the Queen's thief series (rereads book 1-4); (1st read 5-6)

@counterwiddershins I shared my thoughts on this as promised☺️

The Thief

I admit the pace and the writing took me a bit to get used to even though this time was my second read. I knew the big reveal of course but that didn't lessen my excitement as their journey progressed. I especially love Gen in this phase. So carefree and witty. My love also goes to Sophos. Though I also grudgingly like the Magus as well. (Was delighted every time he appeared in later books)

The Queen's of Attolia

This one is intense. I made the mistake of starting this late at night and I couldn't go to sleep. The shift from first person to third person POV also made me cautious of every details looking for hidden meaning. (By courtesy of the first book, I didn't trust the narrative at all lol) Even so, the last few chapters, everything happened too fast and I lost some tracks of the elaborate plan to drive away the Mede from Attolia. (Still very fun though I was not quite convinced of the romance between Gen and Irene by the end of the book.)

The King of Attolia

As I've said, I love this one the most! Maybe it's because I like seeing Gen in his infuriating ways, the relationships he's carefully trying to build, the political machination, the romance! I was totally sold on this one though I want to see more of the transition from their careful walk around each other to their totally comfortably expressing their affection in public. I love the contradictory nature of Gen being ruthless and merciful at once. And Costis! He's a gem.

A conspiracy of kings

My first read I was so bored especially at his time as a slave. I skipped a lot, remembering vaguely about how Gen had let him down and then the shooting scene and no more. This time, I read carefully and I really enjoyed this. I love Sophos. This is his book, book about his self doubt, his growth, him coming into his own role of Sounis, him having to make hard decisions. The climax of the story is one of my most favorite in the seires. Rivaling the last book.

Thick as thieves

It's like the Thief in pace and feels. Only the journey consisted of two instead. I must say I did get bored along the way. Especially when there's no dialogue, only Kamet's observation of events. But when they do talk, gosh, I enjoyed these short conversations full of hidden signs. Although the way Kamet told Immakuk and Ennikar made it quite hard for me to follow, I understood most of it and was over the moon when Costis made it clear to Kamet at last what he thought their friendship was like and more. Also I spotted the big reveal miles away this time without reading any spoilers first. Not sure to be proud of myself or not because it was quite obvious lol.

Return of the theif

Back in the same setting as the third book, I really like this but it was longer than I anticipated. I just finished the previous one around 10pm and I was sure I could finish this by morning at the cost of my sleep. Anyway, the first part is engrossing. I enjoyed Pheris's telling of the events that unfold. I love to read about those private moments Gen had to his own, and with his family and friends. But I was dreading the second part where they marched into war. Throughout the book he was so ill many times while sometimes his health was remarkably strong to withstand such treatments! (Like the trial and those tortures or even long hard battles with the Mede) I was a bit skeptical lol but I guess those times his Gods had their parts to play. I also kinda guess he's gotta have a chance to be the Thief again but that scene was terrifying to read. All in all, I love the books. A very satisfying conclusion to the series.

This is one of the few series that I thought every books are consistently good and deserved to be reread over and over again.

I had book 1-4 in paperback with those beautifully painted covers. A bit sad because I couldn't find that edition anymore. Recently bought the whole series again in ebook to reread because I work far from home.

#the queen's theif #not book reviews rather my opinion after reread lol

[worldsentwined]

I posted 231 times in 2022

55 posts created (24%)

176 posts reblogged (76%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@grammarpedant

@blackrabbitrun

@minutia-r

@baladric

@notapaladin

I tagged 231 of my posts in 2022

#my art - 39 posts

#the queen's thief - 24 posts

#dnd - 23 posts

#the murderbot diaries - 21 posts

#dungeons and dragons - 20 posts

#queen's thief - 20 posts

#poetry - 19 posts

#silly things - 16 posts

#oh i love this - 15 posts

#murderbot - 12 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#because at this point i've sort of forgotten who's into what and also half of my brain is at all times consumed with my original characters

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Not quite midnight here, but since the AO3 collection is live, here is my gift for @vaysh11 in the @mbd-gift-exchange! True story, I haven’t actually watched the Mandalorian but the idea of Murderbot and the Mandalorian encountering each other in a bar in space was such a good mental image that I had to draw it. I hope you like it! You can also find it on AO3. (Bonus: a ficlet describing Murderbot’s reaction to this heavily armored stranger, as seen in a conversation with everyone’s favorite research vessel. Read it on AO3 or under the cut!)

<opening secure feed channel>

SecUnit? Is everything okay?

I'm not sure. Running a risk assessment now.

Do I need to deploy the-

For fuck's sake, ART, do NOT deploy the Pathfinders. This guy just has a lot of weapons, that's all

Just weapons?

And armor

What kind of armor?

<file sent: ArmorGuy.img>

Mandalorian

What?

That's a Mandalorian warrior. Culturally significant armor style, beskar steel. I can send you an info packet if you want

<file sent: Mandalore_culture.file>

<file sent: Mandalore_history.file>

<file sent: Mandalore_religion.file>

Sure, ART, go ahead and send it, not like I have anything better to do than read

You don't have to be sarcastic, I'm just trying to help

You can help by telling me if I need to worry about him going after my humans

Our crew, you mean?

...

...

Yes, our crew

Unlikely. Has he shown any interest in them?

No. I just...he has a LOT of weapons

And armor, don't forget the armor

Yes, thanks, I'm very aware of the armor

Do I detect a note of jealousy?

Fuck off, ART

<secure feed channel closed>

62 notes - Posted December 31, 2021

#4

Wanted a new phone wallpaper (that would fit my new, awkwardly large phone) so I played around and doodled on top of a pretty texture my friend @audreycritter made.

92 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

#3

New @mayakern skirt arrived today! I love how the pockets are green inside, it's such a fun detail. (Also, many many thanks to Devin for exchanging my order for the next size up after I bought a different skirt in the recent sale and realized I'd prefer a larger size, this one fits perfectly!)

124 notes - Posted June 2, 2022

#2

Immakuk and Ennikar they anointed each other with the oil of the gods made only for the gods

So a few weeks ago @shaelit asked if anyone had drawn that scene, and then the request got shared in the QT discord server and I was bullied into drawing it lovingly reminded that I have the ability to draw. Anyway, it was high time I did some art from these myths, the Immakuk and Ennikar stories are my favorite in the series and this one is a particular favorite.

124 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

This has probably been said before on the posts about leaving comments on fics you like (especially when you get the "already left kudos here" banner) but it just occurred to me that the easiest comment to leave when you have already left kudos is "I liked this fic so much I read it twice".

223 notes - Posted October 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #it's really nice that three of these are my own art posts #sort of surprised by the top one but I guess it spread #long post #also it's kind of wild that one of my top posts is actually from 2021 #but I guess they don't count December posts for these #and it was posted when it was already 2022 in some places

[artino-c]

spoilers for gitta, the immakuk poem, and news from the palace

the immakuk & ennikar poem needed a good copy edit (at least 3 typos??) but 1) while the cute fable section with the crow doesn’t really have the same vibe as kamet’s poetry in thick as thieves, it DOES feel like the stories gen tells in the thief and i love the idea that over time kamet unbends and cares less about the authenticity of it all and has fun with it and 2) the frame story of kamet telling an older eugenides this poem to cheer him up because in the poem immakuk leaves his kingdom to his son…but then apparently hector dies or disappears and then eugenia leaves…???? what a twist of the knife????

actually the more i think about the implications of both heirs being lost the harder it is to see any of the other future stories as happy! like sure costis may have 8 kids and 9 wives but what about gen’s kids???? :(

#moira's pen spoilers #queen's thief

[cartograffiti]

Stopping by Hur on a Misty Evening

Fandom: Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner Rated: M No archive warnings apply Word count: 4,433 - Relationships: Kamet/Costis, Ennikar/Immakuk Characters: Kamet e dai Annux, Costis Ormentiedes, Dite, Ennikar, Immakuk - Costis and Kamet, taking the long way around to Roa, encounter some of those Ferrian scholars en route to the same place. Among them is Dite, who accidentally pokes a nerve. Features an Immakuk & Ennikar story inspired by real-world Mesopotamian mythology from Sumer!

Written for the 2022 Hamiathes's Gift Exchange

This fic was posted in 2022. I'm sharing it now because I want my Tumblr to have a nicely organized link to each of my fics. Some I've shared with such inconsistent tags I can't find the links myself, and many I've never blogged about at all!

#SpaceJackalope #fanfiction #oh this one went through such a journey #I started it in between TaT and RotT and just never made it work and scrapped literally thousands of words to reuse the parts I still liked #pure relief what a rush #Queen's Thief #QT #Costis Ormentiedes #Kamet e dai Annux #Dite #Ennikar & Immakuk

[ottovanvonveen]

Immakuk and Ennikar

#my post #tqt #lb #''idiot. us''

[berenshand]

i love costis because when gen and irene find out the gods are real, they're varying degrees of upset and the text makes a point of lingering on those feelings but when it happens to costis, he's just sort of vaguely unnerved for 3 hours and then the next morning he's like "well! im going to forget about that! i have an appointment to get my ass kicked" and he never mentions it again even when he and kamet meet multiple gods in a later book.

#costis is like 'i may have a greater understanding of both the mortal and immortal plane because of this experience #but not even the gods can stop me from being a himbo about it' #the queen's thief #i know we can debate whether immakuk and ennikar count as gods blah blah blah. they're immortal beings who influence mortal events #thats too long and specific for a shitpost

[kareenvorbarra]

fic meme: first and last lines

Rules: go through your last 5 fics and share the first and last line. provide no context.

tagged by @anghraine! I'm going to copy her and only count completed fics for this.

Affinity (Star Wars: Rebels)

First line: Zeb mutters to himself in Lasat sometimes, when he’s feeling particularly trapped in his own head. Last line: It hits him later: he too knows how it feels to lose yourself in memories of a world that no longer exists.

You Know Where To Find Me (Queen's Thief)

First line: The front room of my master’s apartment was dark beyond the glow of my lamp. Last line: “Greatly wise cloaked in wisdom was Immakuk, greatly strong clothed in strength was his true friend Ennikar, great was their love and greatly did it sustain them in their journeys together…”

Aftershock (Queen's Thief)

First line: “Dirnes, give me a hand with these,” Ochto called. Last line: They turned and walked back toward the barracks together.

In the House of Hanaktos (Queen's Thief)

First line: “I knew there was something strange about him from the beginning."  Last line: She crossed her arms, but she was smiling.

Old News (Queen's Thief)

First line: It was winter in northern Medea, which mostly meant rain. Last line: May my own heart never betray me like that, Sevan prayed, then turned her attention back to the others.

i am too lazy to tag anyone else rn - if you see this and feel like doing it yourself, please consider this an invitation!

#meme response