Wow! I love how the multiple story threads weave in and out of each other (the way you identified the various time periods is a nice touch, btw), and in and out of different countries, worlds, and times. Your portrait of Narnia in the first years after the Winter is a good balance between the general optimism of an era called the Golden Age and the realistic troubles of a country worn down by a hundred years of privation and oppression. I also really like your take on Telmar, here -- your description of the climate and also the general physical (they are herders more than farmers) and social mobility of the people (they don't hold fast to their heritage) is very believable in terms of explaining how the Telmarines could later pick up and leave wholesale because of drought and famine.
It took me quite a long time to realize that Clearscry was Frank's Aunt 'Ears'ry, but I really like that personal connection, and the way the Narnians who were frozen all through the Winter recognize physical and temperamental traits of the old royal line in the Pevensies as well as in Peridan. And the bit about Telmarine genealogical recitation patterns fits really nicely with explaining how the name "Casp" could turn into "Caspian" somewhere along the centuries.
I also love, love, love your portrayal of the last years of Narnia before the Winter, because Narnia is not a perfect country and has canonically gotten itself into disarray at other times over the history of the world. And I like complicated stories better than "Narnia = good," "Jadis = evil, EVIL I SAY!!!" so having Narnians be divided and in various ways responsible for their own troubles appeals to me. Because yeah, humans can be awful, but so can Talking Beasts. Just because Jadis was an evil brought into the world at the beginning doesn't mean evils wouldn't have arisen of their own accord, and that Beasts and Beings were somehow exempt from corruption. I think that was Mylophylax's falacy, if he did in fact believe his own rhetoric and was not simply out to seize power for himself.
Queen Althea is a wonderful character and though I knew she was doomed, it was still horrible when Jadis poisoned her (or killed her with magic?). I like her friendships with humans and beasts alike, and how those connections were the things that saved Narnia -- with a bit of help from Aslan, of course, but without her laying the groundwork nothing would have survived for Aslan to nudge along.
Also, Frank's culture clash with the nice and well-meaning Pevensies was adorable. :-)
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It took me quite a long time to realize that Clearscry was Frank's Aunt 'Ears'ry, but I really like that personal connection, and the way the Narnians who were frozen all through the Winter recognize physical and temperamental traits of the old royal line in the Pevensies as well as in Peridan. And the bit about Telmarine genealogical recitation patterns fits really nicely with explaining how the name "Casp" could turn into "Caspian" somewhere along the centuries.
I also love, love, love your portrayal of the last years of Narnia before the Winter, because Narnia is not a perfect country and has canonically gotten itself into disarray at other times over the history of the world. And I like complicated stories better than "Narnia = good," "Jadis = evil, EVIL I SAY!!!" so having Narnians be divided and in various ways responsible for their own troubles appeals to me. Because yeah, humans can be awful, but so can Talking Beasts. Just because Jadis was an evil brought into the world at the beginning doesn't mean evils wouldn't have arisen of their own accord, and that Beasts and Beings were somehow exempt from corruption. I think that was Mylophylax's falacy, if he did in fact believe his own rhetoric and was not simply out to seize power for himself.
Queen Althea is a wonderful character and though I knew she was doomed, it was still horrible when Jadis poisoned her (or killed her with magic?). I like her friendships with humans and beasts alike, and how those connections were the things that saved Narnia -- with a bit of help from Aslan, of course, but without her laying the groundwork nothing would have survived for Aslan to nudge along.
Also, Frank's culture clash with the nice and well-meaning Pevensies was adorable. :-)