A Reconciliation, A Wedding, And A Naming Ceremony contains some quite disjointed ideas that all needed trying up before Chrístõ moved on to a new phase of his life. First, a moment of angst when Chrístõ has to reconcile Valena and his father, after The Ambassador reveals the truth about her father’s death. It is a huge thing for her to accept, of course. That her father was the man behind the attempts on Chrístõ’s life. But she comes to terms with it.

The scene with Chrístõ and Valena in the woods, has been a source of intrigue for some readers, who see it as a love scene between the two. It isn’t, of course. Though it is a rare moment of understanding between the two of them.

The wedding of Kohb and Camilla by a tradition – the Dawn Alliance – which I obviously made up on the spot, was the next element to the story. It has resonances from other stories, of course. Chrístõ made the four rings for his first two married couples, Terry and Cassie and Sammie and Bo. In Unfinished Business, The Doctor forges the rings for his own wedding. It is a little tradition of its own that I have created.

And of course it was inevitable that Bo would give birth in the middle of the ceremony. So that, as the dawn broke, one wedding, a reconciliation, and a naming ceremony could all be completed and the promise of happiness for a few of the main protagonists assured. This is not a dramatic, action story, but it was the clearing up of a lot of loose ends. Li Ang, of course, is a name that pays tribute to Li Tuo, who Bo, among others, loved.

The seat in the cúl nut copse that was made of a fallen tree was inspired by the work of an Irish sculptor called Liam O’Neill, who does that very thing with fallen trees. He did a piece called ‘Brothers’ in the formal garden of the house that I use pictures of to represent Mount Lœng House in

these stories, so it seemed appropriate.

http://www.liamoneill.com/../index2007.html