Further, on Amasa

• Vignette: as a young girl, she encounters Archios, an angel who assumes human form. She does not realise he is not human, and he tests her with several questions. Later in life she meets him again (in a dream ?) and realises that he was assessing her allegiance (whether to the Kingdom of Heaven or that of the god of this world)
• Vignette: Rasfarin, who will later be animated by the spirit of the Resister, begins his career as the eternally ambitious counsellor to the proctor of the ward of which Amasa's village is a part. He espies her one day and sees within her a purity stemming from her devotion to the Kingdom of Heaven. Not at this time realising he is being influenced by spirits, he desires to possess her (both her physical being and her spirit). The spirits who influence him have a motive: they discern that Amasa will be central in God's fight against them as they attempt to gain control of the empire on earth, and thus, of men's minds.
• Vignette: Rasfarin's first encounter with Amasa:- he grasps her hand and his spirit tries to grasp hers, but she withdraws (spiritually) despite his seductiveness
• Note: Although Amasa's father loved her deeply, his relationship with her was distant. Why ? A nominal believer most of his life, he became deeply agnostic after the death of his second wife (Amasa's mother). How could a loving God allow such a beautiful and spotless woman to die in the prime of her life ? In Amasa he sees a deep devotion to the One True God that he cannot comprehend, and that he cannot (perhaps chooses not to) share
• Vignette: describe a series of dreams Amasa has as a child which portend to her future. To do with eschewing pride ? Maybe ? Of course, she does not understand the significance at the time. Archios is in her dreams, and she meets him in human form later in life.
  ii) Show Kyle's physical exertions in developing his skills in the jyoro. Show him failing. Struggling. Show how Taemporo sidesteps his strengths and exposes his weaknesses (impatience/impulsivity, feeling of invincibility, self-reliance, pride)
  iii) Remember: at one point Kyle and Amasa are separated. This is becasue they have both fallen into sin, Amasa by sleeping with Kyle, and Kyle by succumbing to the Dark Arts to further his power. Amasa is taken into captivity and it seems as thoguh Ixcthu has deserted her. In truth, though, she is under discipline.
  THEREFORE, make it an issue for Amasa to struggle with her faith in an all-powerful God. She debates internally between serving other gods, who bequeath magi with manifest power (such as the elemental magi - fire, earth, water - display). Ixcthu is derided as the god of chance (many of Amasa's own displays have taken the form of seeming coincidence, and this is also why Ixcthu is God of the Hunt). In fact, myth holds that Ixcthu fathered the other gods but lost his powers to his spawn (how ?).
• In captivity, Amasa runs the gamut of emotions, from extreme anger (she is raped many times after grievously wounding some of her captors), to denial, grief, etc. - before finally calling again upon Ixcthu. He reveals that He has been with her all along. She has a 'road to Damascus' moment.