The Future of the Dwarves - "The Lilac and the Stone" Short Story Analysis
The Lilac and the Stone is a short story from the upcoming anthology book, The Voices Within. In this story by Catherynne Valente, we examine Moira Thaurissan's fraught past, and see how informs the future of her kingdom as well as her son.
Moira's Past
Sometimes, I think my anger will outlive me. That they will close up the earth over my body, and long after I am forgotten, some brutal, black hardened jewel left from my rot will work its way up out of the moss, hissing and spitting and still scalding hot. Maybe they will use it to warm a village somewhere. An eternity of cozy hearths and ready stews fueled by this bitter fury I carried but could never fully satisfy.
I like the idea of that.
One of the core focuses of this short story is the examination of Moira's past tribulations. The Queen of the Dark Iron sits in a rather happy place in the current story as one of The War Within's upcoming protagonists, but that wasn't always the case. In expansions past, she's played a more antagonistic role in the story of Ironforge, and the path towards that position during Cataclysm is a tragic one.
Born as the first and only heir to King Magni Bronzebeard, Moira Bronzebeard's relationship with her father has been a tense one from the day she was born. In a society like Ironforge, centered around the exploits of men, Magni's hopes for a male heir left him disappointed in Moira's status as a woman. While he loved her despite this, their relationship hardened after the death of his wife and Moira's mother, Queen Eimear, at the hands of Khaz Modan's native Frostmane trolls. In her dying breath, Eimear wished for Magni to promise that no matter how hard it got, he would always be there for Moira.
Despite his wife's dying words, the
