I realized last night, while flipping through the book again, that we now have a stated age for Gil at the time Agatha's entering Sturmhalten: he's twenty-two. Given how close he and Tarvek appear in age during the "Tarvek Sturmvoraus, Boy Detective" sequence, I'd put the two at very close to the same age, so depending on when birthdays fall Tarvek is somewhere between an old 21 or a youngish 23.
It increases my sense that at least some of the plot elements are tied to when the two boys come of age. Tarvek could not have safely made a move to oust his father until he was old enough to legally hold his title without a Regent--quite possibly a regent assigned by Klaus. Klaus could not safely announce Gil's position as heir until Gil came of age, so that the transfer of power would move smoothly.
It also means we can now start reckoning in things like how Gil's birth relates to such issues as Klaus being exiled to Skifander (frex, is he or Zeetha older? Or are they twins?), and the age of the two boys at the time of the flashback. Both are now established as clearly three and five years older than Agatha, with roughly four seeming about right.
Sigh. I don't know if that's one I should post on the Tropes site or not. It's the sort of fact folks over there revel in, but I don't know who's read the book yet. I may just remind them that we're here, if they want to join the chat.
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timeasmymeasure
Gil's Age
Date: 2012-04-12 10:19 pm (UTC)It increases my sense that at least some of the plot elements are tied to when the two boys come of age. Tarvek could not have safely made a move to oust his father until he was old enough to legally hold his title without a Regent--quite possibly a regent assigned by Klaus. Klaus could not safely announce Gil's position as heir until Gil came of age, so that the transfer of power would move smoothly.
It also means we can now start reckoning in things like how Gil's birth relates to such issues as Klaus being exiled to Skifander (frex, is he or Zeetha older? Or are they twins?), and the age of the two boys at the time of the flashback. Both are now established as clearly three and five years older than Agatha, with roughly four seeming about right.
Sigh. I don't know if that's one I should post on the Tropes site or not. It's the sort of fact folks over there revel in, but I don't know who's read the book yet. I may just remind them that we're here, if they want to join the chat.