What if...

Nia died instead of Wendolyn?

At first I thought that not too much would be different. But then as I began to think through the books in order this was my reaction,

🙂

😮

😲

🤯

This may be a very long analysis so I shall split it into a couple parts.

Naturally, there will be SPOILERS! for the whole Saga. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS! 

BEFORE• The Great War.

The scene of the Wingfeathers escape would look mostly the same here. Artham and Arundelle would be out in the garden 💍, Esben, Nia, the grandparents and the children in the dining room. The only thing that made such a difference was that when the Fangs attacked, Nia would grab Leeli and Wendonlyn would bring the boys. When they make it to the boat and the men are fighting, Wendolyn lifts the boys in first, steps in and reaches out for Leeli. Leeli's leg gets twisted and the Fangs attack Nia. Artham can't get to her intime, neither can Podo and she unfortunately dies.

Artham runs to find Esben, Podo sails them over the sea in a raging storm and they arrive in Fort Lamendron in five days. 

ON THE EDGE OF THE DARK SEA OF DARKNESS• Book one.

In this version of the Saga, Janner and his siblings would be missing two parents. I imagine Wendolyn and Podo would have taught the Children to do their T.H.A.G.S. in memory of their parents. Podo would have made sure Janner cared for his siblings and yeah. I think Wendolyn and the boys would have a special bond, like Podo and Leeli do.

Podo and Wendolyn had a very 50/50 chance of using the name Helmer for the children rather than Igiby. If they chose to be particular with the details, the kids would be Igibys but if not then,

Janner Helmer

Kalmer  Helmer🤣

And

Leeli Helmer.

Leeli would still have Nugget and Janner would still work for Oscar and Podo still hates Peet, so with all this set up, let begin

The plot of Book 1 would look something like this:

After an anxious night of listening to the black carriage, Janner Helmer is out in the harvest field shoveling hay into Danny the carthorse's cart. He spies a dragonfly and watches it fly out over the cliffs on Skree. As he works he remembers the picture he found in his grandparents room a few days ago. It's a sketch of his father on his twelfth birthday. Janner had never known much about his parents, only that they both died in the Great War. Before he found the picture, he had never asked about them. To him they were just faceless figures who had loved them dearly and wanted them to do T.H.A.G.S. but once he found the sketch, a million questions had entered his mind. 

What had they been like? His father looked like himself and he wondered what his mother looked like? Why hadn't his grandparents ever told him their names? What if they had lived?

When Janner brung up his father's picture at breakfast, his grandmother unintentionally revealed his parents' names; Esben and Nia. Esben and Nia Helmer.

Janner escorted his siblings to Dunn Green to watch the games. They stopped by Books and Crannies and listened to Armulyn the Bard sing. Leeli got separated and the following chaos ended the three of them in the Glipwood jail. 

After watching the Sea Dragons sing with her friend Ferinia, Wendolyn makes her way back to town to drop something off at a neighbors house before heading back to the Cottage. As she head back up the lane, Omelia Impstead shuffles up to her and quietly informs her that her grandchildren were put in jail that afternoon. 

“I saw the crow heading for the south. Wendolyn, I'm so sorry.” 

But Wendolyn takes a stand against her apology and goes to retrieve the gold that she and Podo hid away when they arrived. With it she rescues her grandies and brings them home to a very surprised and very scolded Podo. 

“I told you they weren't old enough to go out on their own! And where were you when they came looking for you? Thought you'd sneak off to Shaggy's tavern for a bibe, did you?”

When things are calmer, Janner and Tink go into town to help Oscar with a delivery of books. Stuff happens and yeah. 

Basically the rest of the story is the same except Wendolyn's personality is different to Nia so she would react a bit differently. I feel like Podo would listen to her more and when he's dying it would be a wife and husband scene instead of father and daughter. Wendolyn would choose to go with Peet.

At Peet's Tree Castle, the Jewels of Anniera learn that their parents were the King and Queen of the Shining Isle. Its revealed that their real name is Wingfeather and they tell of how Nia and Esben died. To each of the children they give special gifts from their father and the story ends with Janner in a hammock in Peet's Tree House, in the middle of a storm, reading a letter from his father.

The End.

That's enough for one post. I have part two written out and will post it a bit later. For those of you who are realizing the same things about the future that I have, just you wait! This is gonna be a doozie!

(Wink in the comments but don't say anything yet, let it play out for the others)