Background
Latera is the daughter of the V’ahani Chieftain Arkouda and sister of Hanzah. Her clan, the V’ahani, are known for their ancient connection to the land and ability to control of the great grizzlies of the Murrieta Territory’s Riverlands.
Under the tutelage of her late mother, she learned to be a nurse for wounded clan warriors. Even now though, Latera remains sheltered and disengaged in the politics of her clan. The larger world of the Murrieta Territory is simply not a worry of hers in the harsh, northern Riverlands.
Will she be able to remain closed off from the world when the Keagan gang makes their presence felt?
Ground to be Gained
Latera is one of my favorite characters to write because there is so much for her to still figure out about herself. Let me be clear, she isn’t the youngest point-of-view by any means at age 20. However, when we first meet her she is in a state of misconceiving her own identity and desires. Because of this, there is a lot she needs to unlearn, before she can learn.
This forced cloudiness is something many of us go through, myself especially included. Too many times I’ve experienced periods where I pretended I was satisfied with my circumstances, while simultaneously knowing I could achieve more. Have you gone through something similar? If so, how important was this period of transition to you becoming stronger today? Most of the time, we are broken out of this haze by some shock event. Latera is no exception to this rule.
Her own trauma will shake her in a way that doesn’t turn her into something. Instead, it makes her realize what her potential is and pushes her to turn it into her reality.
“The characters are all well drawn and I felt that, with Latera especially, there is great growth throughout.” ~Amazon Review for Crimson River (5 stars, User PeaceLoveHope)