Gay Reality in the Fantasy World of Mercedes Lackey

In a place far from here, in the minds of anyone lucky enough to have read the entertaining novels of Mercedes Lackey lies the country of Valdemar. Valdemar is a place of magic and fantasy created by author Mercedes Lackey. Characters are capable of superhuman feats such as telepathy, telekinesis and even pyrokinesis, or fire starting. However, Lackey does not only entertain, she educates. Her representation of the gays and lesbians puts the homosexual lifestyle in a setting not usually considered in fantasy work.

Throughout the first series of novels, dictating the life and times of the Herald-Mage Vanyel, Lackey makes sure the survival of Valdemar is at the forefront, but the personal lives of the characters reveal much about the author’s views of the gay community. The gays and lesbians in Lackey’s novels are well represented; however, she does not only use fantasy versions of the hardships of the modern day homosexual to provide subject matter. When reading Lackey’s novels chronologically, one can clearly see both a change in gay and lesbian terminology and the progression of homosexual acceptance as the years pass. Gay vocabulary both broadens and evolves, and clear distinctions are made between homosexual and heterosexual terms. In Lackey’s novels, she serves to not only represent homosexuals in a favorable light, but also to explain their troubles and encourage tolerance and acceptance through understanding. In addition, she makes use of characters’ personal life stories to incorporate the evolution of gay terminology and progression of homosexual acceptance throughout the time frame of the novels.

The first homosexual character we encounter is the boy Vanyel Ashkevron. Living in his father’s keep, he is heir to the family estate. However, Vanyel does not quite live up to his father’s expectations. In the eyes of his father, Vanyel is small, thin and disappointingly un-masculine. At weapons training, he cannot keep up with the other boys in heavier armor. When he attempts to learn a new fighting style better equipped for a quick wiry boy such as himself, he is ridiculed by the arms master and suffers a broken arm at the end of the day. Vanyel is first in line for the family fortune, yet he suffers the indignity of the “children’s table” and is constantly hounded by his father to be more of a man. To add insult, his mother is forever setting him up with the flirtatious young ladies of the court, in whom he has no interest. Vanyel's father recognizes his tendencies, and takes great precautions to prevent Vanyel from the knowledge of such a thing male-male relationships.

Vanyel is sent to his aunt Savil at the Heralds’ collegium to “get some sense” and there learn the reasoning behind his manliness problem. He becomes aware of the possibility of varying sexual orientation when falls in love with another young man at the collegium. Vanyel is only at the beginning of his intimate turmoil, however, as his lover carries out an unspeakable act of vengeance and later commits suicide to atone for his actions. When Vanyel visits home, he finds that he has been all but ostracized for his choices by his family, and is even accused of seduction and inappropriate behavior with the keep boys by his father. At least part of this series of events coincides with the experiences of many young homosexual men. The realization of their own sexuality causes great hardship for homosexual people all across the board. The type of realism expressed in the response of Vanyel’s father is typical of family reactions to a son who expresses such tendencies.

Meanwhile, the larger metropolitan atmosphere of the Herald’s collegium is represented as much more open and accepting. This, too, parallels the real world in that the larger cities are more understanding of homosexual behavior than the smaller country townships. Through out the story of his life, Vanyel battles with his own sexuality and the loss of his first partner, while attempting to convince his father that he is “normal.” Throughout his entire life, even to his death, Vanyel struggles to gain his father’s acceptance and his mother’s blessing.

Vanyel’s plight is typical of many homosexual men, however, his is not the only experience that can be noted as obviously homosexual. In his travels, Vanyel meets a man in a strange clan: the Tale’edrans, a group of nature protectorates who live high in the trees of a secret forest. Moondance, the young man in question, has also had a series of misadventures. He too had a lover die, but this time, it was at his own hands. He viewed this accidental tragedy as a sign of “inbred evil” (his homosexuality) and attempted to take his own life. After finding solace in the people of the trees, he discovers that he can no longer live life as he did before. He even gives up his birth name (Tallo) and takes on the name Moondance to solidify the wall between himself and his past and strengthen the bond with his new family. He discovers that his home is not a home and that he cannot abide the place in which he was raised. As is the case with many gays and lesbians, he separates himself completely from his old life and forges ahead with new confidence as he is accepted by his new family, the Tale’edrans. This tale too, represents the lives of present day homosexuals while giving it a twist that remains fantasy in nature and encourages us to sympathize with Moondance and to be more accepting.

In the Vanyel stories, the word “gay” is never used. Instead, young men who choose their own gender for romance are given a special name by their peers. It arises from the word used first by the mysterious Tale’edrans. The word is “shay’a’chern”, roughly translating to “lover of his own.” This word is at first used only by Vanyel and is close friends, but as it makes it’s way through the ranks of heralds, the word gains popularity and is soon being used by the entire country. When Vanyel returns form an overseas tour of duty, he finds that the word has become a shortened slang term, “shaych.” Even in this small time frame, we can see the evolutions and expansion of gay terminology and the use of slang terms.

Though the borderlands seem to reject the homosexual lifestyle at first, they soon warm to the idea. However, one should not assume that the people of Valdemar were always strangers to the idea of homosexuality. In contrast to the real world counterpart, the Valdemarian army accepts and encourages homosexual behavior in its ranks. The soldiers who prefer their own sex are termed “shieldmates” while those who simply share a tent with no romantic bonds are termed “shieldbrothers.” This distinction not only emphasizes the recognition of such bonds, but also represents the acceptance of such relationships and recognizes them as a minimal deviation from the norm. The term for homosexual is so close to the word for intimate same sex friendship, that the possibility of homosexual relationships inside homosocial bonds is increased to almost certainty.

This is an idea that is foreign to those of us in the real world, but Lackey is trying to tell us that this level of acceptance can be achieved. She feels strongly that the level of acceptance and even approval portrayed in her novels only requires time to take form. Like Vanyel’s family, we need only to realize the helpfulness of such bonds and the lack of hurtfulness to realize the futility of preventing homosexual bonds.

Though the novels of Mercedes Lackey are set in a fantasy world, many of the concepts she emphasizes are beneficial to the gay community. She emphasizes the importance of male-male sexual bonds in social institutions, while still maintaining a level of friendship therein. She also utilizes the chronology of her books to explain the evolution of gay terminology and acceptance over time of the gay community in general. Though her books are fiction, we would do well to look to them for guidance.