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Am I stubborn? Just as much as Constance Contraire.

Steady fingers on the bridge,

Just as steady as my mind when it's made up.

I love one whose weapon is that of the just.

They may have taken their vows against me, but I'll save him 'cause he's to me like glittering garland is to silver-fist

We are divided, awkward and shy as he may have been so long ago.

But my love, he is just as outgoing as always.

I used the same weapon of my daughter,

Whose main character trait was inherited from me.

You aren't supposed to answer the question posed in the title. Rather, it's a hint. Just say who the narrator is. Book references fewer. Just one throughout and three others. Couldn't help myself with the three;-)

Here's a riddle for the series(hint!) that this riddle is mostly from, lines symbolized by a backslash

Here it is...

We are 12, the first a haunted ground/ The second is like the second line/ The third is entombed in ice/ The fourth is those who own a special pendant/ The fifth is a misunderstood healer/ The sixth is against all odds/ The seventh is a bargain for a big man's head/ The eighth is about mentor's home/ The ninth is the mentor's danger/ The tenth is a noble noble-man/ The eleventh was lost long ago/ The twelfth is the subject's obdurate child.

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  • $\begingroup$ Do you mean narrator as in the riddle's narrator, or the book's narrator? $\endgroup$
    – aBeginnerInC
    May 21, 2015 at 3:11
  • $\begingroup$ @aBeginnerInC The riddle's narrator is almost always the goal in solving a riddle... $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    May 21, 2015 at 7:30
  • $\begingroup$ Darren Shan by any chance? $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    May 22, 2015 at 8:34
  • $\begingroup$ @randal'thor No, actually. Who? $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    May 22, 2015 at 11:55
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    $\begingroup$ Chatroom for puzzles of this type. Please upvote this comment for visibility. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    May 27, 2015 at 11:10

3 Answers 3

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OK, this is a long shot, but I'll give it a go.

The hint makes me think of

David Eddings's Belgariad and Malloreon series (12 books in total including the followup novels Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress).

Specifically:

"a haunted ground" = Maragor; "those who own a special pendant" = Belgarath and family (including Ce'Nedra); "the mentor" could be Belgarath; and "the twelfth is the subject's obdurate child" sounds like Polgara, the obdurate child of Belgarath and Poledra, who gives her name to the twelfth book.

Having got the book series, the best fit for the riddle seems to be

Poledra.

Which one is my real identity?

Is she wolf or human?

Am I stubborn? Just as much as Constance Contraire.

Stubbornness really runs in that family...

Steady fingers on the bridge,

Just as steady as my mind when it's made up.

Steady would perhaps be a better word than stubborn for Poledra (unlike her husband and daughter).

I love one whose weapon is that of the just.

Belgarath.

They may have taken their vows against me, but I'll save him 'cause he's to me like glittering garland is to silver-fist

I suspect this is an Eragon reference?

We are divided, awkward and shy as he may have been so long ago.

But my love, he is just as outgoing as always.

Belgarath started off as a shy village lad. Outgoing? I suppose so...

I used the same weapon of my daughter,

The form of a snowy owl.

Whose main character trait was inherited from me.

Stubbornness again? Or strength of character. They're similar in lots of ways really.

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  • $\begingroup$ Umm... We are twelve refers to the series itself, if you know what I mean. $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    May 24, 2015 at 18:48
  • $\begingroup$ @AJL You mean the series is twelvey (like The Dirty Dozen) rather than just having twelve books? If I may ask for a hint, is it fantasy? $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    May 24, 2015 at 19:54
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    $\begingroup$ It has twelve books, and yes $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    May 24, 2015 at 21:32
  • $\begingroup$ The just refers to a certain other series... $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    Jun 6, 2015 at 0:49
  • $\begingroup$ @AJL Reave the Just? $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Jun 6, 2015 at 9:11
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Alright alright I got this one! The reference to Constance Contraire drew me in - haven't thought of that series in a while - but the hint really gave it away for me. (Spoilers for the series ahead.)

Who is the narrator?

Cassandra, aka Evanlyn, from John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series.

Am I stubborn? Just as much as Constance Contraire.

Evanlyn is stubborn - it's one of her best traits, as well as one that gets her into trouble.

Steady fingers on the bridge,

Referencing book 2, The Burning Bridge, and her role in it.

Just as steady as my mind when it's made up.

Again, a reference to how determined she is.

I love one whose weapon is that of the just.

She is in love with Horace, who is a knight and fights on the side of justice (with a sword, commonly regarded as a weapon of justice).

They may have taken their vows against me, but I'll save him 'cause he's to me like glittering garland is to silver-fist

Not sure about this one. Possibly referring to the fact that Will chose not to enlist in Battleschool, instead staying with (making his vows to) Halt and the Rangers? Unsure who silver-fist is.

We are divided, awkward and shy as he may have been so long ago.

Will was quite awkward and shy as a kid, and Evanlyn and Will are now separated by location as well as somewhat by circumstance.

But my love, he is just as outgoing as always.

Not sure if this is referring to Horace (romantic love) or Will (platonic love)? Both are quite outgoing by the second half of the series.

I used the same weapon of my daughter,

Both Evanlyn and her daughter Madelyn favor a leather slingshot as their primary weapon.

Whose main character trait was inherited from me.

Madelyn inherited her mother's stubbornness, which causes trouble for her as well as for her parents in book 12 (The Royal Ranger).

Title - "which one is my real identity?"

I assume this is referring to the fact that the narrator has two identities - Evanlyn and Cassandra.

And the hint:

We are 12, the first a haunted ground/ The second is like the second line/ The third is entombed in ice/ The fourth is those who own a special pendant/ The fifth is a misunderstood healer/ The sixth is against all odds/ The seventh is a bargain for a big man's head/ The eighth is about mentor's home/ The ninth is the mentor's danger/ The tenth is a noble noble-man/ The eleventh was lost long ago/ The twelfth is the subject's obdurate child.

Refers to:

The (12) books in the series, referring to either the title itself or the plot of that particular book: The Ruins of Gorlan, The Burning Bridge, The Icebound Land, The Oakleaf Bearers (though I, and other US readers, know it as The Battle for Skandia), The Sorcerer in the North, The Siege of Macindaw, Erak's Ransom, The Kings of Clonmel, Halt's Peril, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, The Lost Stories, and The Royal Ranger

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I think the book is

The Mysterious Benedict Society.

The riddle's narrator is

Milligan.

As

He is Kate's father

But I'm not so sure after seeing the title.

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    $\begingroup$ Nope. Usually the most obvious hint doesn't even point to the right book series :-) $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    May 21, 2015 at 10:22
  • $\begingroup$ that being said, thanks for reminding me about the mysterious benedict society :) $\endgroup$
    – undergroundmonorail
    May 22, 2015 at 1:26
  • $\begingroup$ I like it a lot, maybe I'll use it in another riddle(not in the near future, of course) $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    May 22, 2015 at 1:33

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