Ireth
Myth Weaver
I have a scene in my WIP where the main villain's primary henchman, Jarl, comes across a good guy, Vidar, who had aided in the defeat of the evil Vaennherra, the predecessor to Jarl's mistress (in the "Dark Lady whom he serves" sense, not the "lover on the side" sense) some few centuries prior. The conversation goes something like this:
Jarl will then go on to meet more characters who had also helped defeat Vaennherra, and express the same awe. This brief exchange ends up being very important as motivation for the main villain, who does not wish to die in the same way Vaennherra and his own primary henchman did. She goes so far as to search through a character's memories to find out exactly how Vaennherra was killed and by whom, so she can avoid the same fate. (Not that it'll save her in the end.)
But the real question is, is such a brief exchange enough to satisfy readers' taste for backstory? I don't want to slip into full infodump mode to explain that story -- even the memory-searching will be summarized as something like "She finally reached the man's memories of the day Vaennherra had fallen, and lingered long on them, not wanting to miss a detail that could prove deadly." Any advice on where the line is that I shouldn't cross?
"I realize I haven't yet given you my name. I am Vidar Birgirsson."
Jarl's eyebrows shot up. "Not the same Vidar who defeated Vaennherra and destroyed the fortress of Langstein?"
Vidar smiled and shrugged one shoulder. "You're half right. I was not the one who destroyed Langstein, but I did have a hand in Vaennherra's fall."
Jarl will then go on to meet more characters who had also helped defeat Vaennherra, and express the same awe. This brief exchange ends up being very important as motivation for the main villain, who does not wish to die in the same way Vaennherra and his own primary henchman did. She goes so far as to search through a character's memories to find out exactly how Vaennherra was killed and by whom, so she can avoid the same fate. (Not that it'll save her in the end.)
But the real question is, is such a brief exchange enough to satisfy readers' taste for backstory? I don't want to slip into full infodump mode to explain that story -- even the memory-searching will be summarized as something like "She finally reached the man's memories of the day Vaennherra had fallen, and lingered long on them, not wanting to miss a detail that could prove deadly." Any advice on where the line is that I shouldn't cross?