Favorite book dads/father figures, pick #1 : Edwin in La Quête D’Ewilan by Pierre Bottero
This is a french serie so I’ll spare you the synopsis since this hasn’t been translated to english (as far as I know. Correct me if I’m wrong)
Edwin is both a father figure and a dad and I decided to talk about both instead of just one because... I LOVE HIM DEEPLY AND WANT TO TALK ABOUT HIM FOREVER!!He's not actively going around to adopt children; he just happen to be the designated army officer when a certain girl decide to go on a 'saving the world' mission (honestly he doesn't really mind ^^).
Anyway, over the books he has been a father figure to Ewilan and Salim, then he has a son and I'm gonna tell you all about that instead of just rambling about the man himself! (I would like that though. I would like it a lot) Let's start with Ewilan and Salim!
He first meet them when they magically teleport in his world. He quickly realises that 1) Ewilan can still do magic while every wizards in the land have been powerless for years 2) she is the (lost) daughter of one of his (also lost) best friends. He saves their lives and then they are off on a quest to save the magical land. Easy right?
What's great about Edwin's relationship with Ewilan is that he's one of the only adult who treats her like a child.
Ewillan is pretty special (not in a bad way) and very mature for her age so she goes pretty fast from student to colleague with the magicians around her. She forms a sisterly bond with Ellana (which is great and gives me emotions). And Bjorn is a bit too immature to be considered a responsible adult (sorry dude ^^).
But Edwin is not a magician. He is however a respected warrior. He's also the second most powerful man in the empire (right after the emperor himself). So he is a responsible adult and though he is impressed by some of the magic Ewilan does he doesn't let it get to his head and he never forgets that she is a 14 years old girl. He teaches her the more mundane things about this new world. He protects her. He doesn't let her take the lead on things that aren't specifically magic (read : 'no young lady we are not crossing half of this empire with only two guards as an escort. We're gonna take 20 of my highly train soldiers and nothing less'). She is a child, he is an adult and he’ll make sure she won’t get more endangered in this quest than she absolutely need. And if they develop a mutual respect and unbreakable family bond along the way... Well, it’s just the author emotionally manipulating me AND I APPRECIATE THAT!!
And when she grows up in the second trilogy they are a bit more equal since she knows much more about the world and herself by now. But it never changes the fact that when she needs advices she goes to him. And if she needs help he is there for her. I love how this relationship evolved from 'you're my mission and also the daughter of an old friend' and 'you're a mean for me to complete my quest' to 'we're family and if you ever need me you know I'll be there'. It's truly amazing.
His relationship with Salim is a bit different because Salim isn't a magic user either. So they have more in common. But at the same time Edwin kinda sees Salim as just 'Ewilan's friend that we have to take along because she says so' at first. And after that Salim becomes Ellana’s apprentice which could have made it easy for Edwin and Salim to never bond much.
But I would argue Edwin had a very important part in Salim's life. Edwin obviously taught him a lot of practical skills. He also taught him to know his strengths and weaknesses; accept them and use them. He showed him that the most obvious way is not always the right way for you. Salim will always look up to Edwin, in a way, and they will always be part of the same found family that went on a journey to save the world. And that just my kind of thing so now I'll cry in a corner for a bit okay?
Now let's talk ship and how my ship HAD A BABY AND BASICALLY UNITED THE WORLD TO SAVE HIM FROM STUFFS!!!
Quick recap : Edwin meet Ellana, they have an epic perfect slow burn that I love to pieces because they are some of my favorite characters ever. Eventually they get together and are happy and decide to have a kid. I think they name their kid Dorian if my memories are corrects.
Long story short Dorian is abducted by a terrible sect and edwin is led to believe that Ellana is dead.
She is actually just baddly injured and gets herself back in shape to go save her baby. Meanwhile, Edwin is going through the empire to gather an army to attack the place where his son is held (he kinda unites factions who've been holding grudges for years as he does so. But that's details ^^). We don't get to see Edwin interact with his kid as a grown up (saddly the auhor died before that) BUT HE WAS READY TO DESTROY THE WORLD FOR HIS BOY SO I SAY HE WINS!!!
(There totally an epic battle then the family is reunited at the end and everything is great. Just in case you’re wondering)
It will surprise absolutely no one that I am very much looking forward to continuing my reread of this serie ^^
PLEASE REBLOG AND CHECH #BOOKDRAGON’S TOP 5 AND #BDT5 FOR MORE!!
Some links :
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