[Mikotenshi]

IMO, I think Arkan and Maerad should get together *smiles nervously* don't kill me yet! But here is the way I sort of perceive things:

Dernhil: The boy next door. Sweet, shy and gentle. A scholar and deeply attuned to feelings. Maerad would probably have loved him the most.
Arkan: The mysterious, cold, strong and silent type. Him and Maerad are like opposites, like two pieces of puzzle. They fit though.
Cadvan: The mentor. The one that all schoolgirls have a crush on in one point of their life. He and Maerad go through a lot together and he goes from mentor to best friend kind of.

Yia... I think I was bored when I thought this all out XD :D

[Bree]

Whoa.

You're good at analyzing things.

I know the perfect dude for Maerad, and why.

1. Not Dernhil, cause he's my man ;)
2. Not Arkan, cause he's just ughh
3. CADVAN. cause it's so meant to be and all. :p

[Mikotenshi]

LOL. You're probably right though (as chagrined as I am to admit it), considering Dernhil's dead and Maerad can't live in Arkan's icy palace with him without going completely spare, Cadvan's most likely to receive her love. *sigh*

[Bree]

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

:D:D:D

[Sirkana]

Hem was 13 nearly 14 at the end of the Crow...

And Maerad was 17 or there abouts

Wait, where does it say that?
In the Gift, p330, it says of Hem-''they saw he was probably about 12,'' though he may have been small and undernourished.
This fits with the dates-Maerad was 6 when Pellinor was sacked, and Hem ''a baby'' , i.e: more like 2 than 4 (ok 4 is still baby, but yeah).
By the end of the Crow it is Midwinter in the same year. He might by then be 13 but only just.
Maerad is 16 at the beginning of the Gift, the Springturn. By the next Springturn she will therefore be 17 and as at the end of the Riddle it's Midwinter there's a reasonable chance she is 17 as it stands.
Back to relationships and ages-Everyone is bothered about the real age difference between M+C-16/17 and 80. But if you think, 16/17 and 35 is still really a lot. Dernhil wasn't as old-he'd've been better, though not much. M+A, though-he's like 10 0000 years old! And if that's not age difference...:rolleyes:

[Mikotenshi]

Actually... Cadvan's older than that I think? I recall somewhere in the book he talks about seeing his whole family die of age. I'm sure in the book he's at least eighty. Bards live three times the span of normal humans =O

At least Arkan won't age before Maerad though. And for all we know Maerad could have some life loophole thing being an Elidhu descendent after all *crosses fingers*.

Gah! Must stop the speculations lol :D

[Laramie]

Well, I WANT Maerad and Cadvan to get together, but as I said somewhere else, I'm not sure they will. I think they will kiss but not get together and both regret it and not travel together any more or they will travel together but they will be awkward for a long time...or perhaps they'll kiss, regret, be awkward and then get together at the end anyway...
...
...I don't know!! :confused: :confused: :confused:

[JessRae]

I thought Derhill was as old as Cadvan though? Wasn't there something about the two of them in the books which kind of implied they were close in age... like school boys rivals or something :S. I could be wrong and I don't want to say too much in case someone is not finish reading it.

[Irc]

Yes, I think I agree with that.:)

[Bree]

Yeh, I think Dernhil is the same age as Cadvan, maybe a year or two younger. But I think Cadvan is the more mature of the two in the end. Before the incident with Dernhil, Cadvan was very vain and IMO immature, wheras Dernhil wasn't, he was just the friendly bard who loved poetry and who got in Cadvan's way.
In the end though, the incident shocked Cadvan and made him mature incredibly fast, but Dernhil stayed friendly, calm and laid back.

What I'm trying to say is that, for what Maerad's going through, Cadvan is the better one for her, he's wiser and is a better person at guiding.
Dernhil on the other hand, would be the perfect man to come home to after fighting off a load of hulls. He'd be calming, understanding and easy to talk to.

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN M+D :(
poor Dernhil.