What if?

I drew almost all of the differing elements from real mythology. As I started out, I asked myself what if everything written about in western mythology was true. There was one book in particular, The Secret Teachings of all Ages, by Manly P. Hall, that really got me started on developing my own spin on things. I constantly draw together separate elements that I find interesting connections between. Sometimes it’s just a word or an idea, and other times, I just see two things fitting together like they were meant to be. Either way, you’ll recognize quite a few names and ideas. Ultimately, things have been spun so that it’s coherent to the story, and I’ll try and detail those here.

Warning: I won’t give away anything that you can’t read in the novel, but you should probably read it first, and then use this to make sure you understood everything.

Vampires

First of all, they’re all female. The reason for this is tying them to a very old myth about Lilith, who set her children upon man to punish him for what she perceived as his wrong against her. I liked the idea of vampires going after men for their role in the fall; and just to give an empowering role to women, albeit an evil one. They appear beautiful in the light of the moon, but can go out in the day. What they’re after is not blood alone, it’s the energy of sex and life all put together. They create Incubi out of men, and send them out to collect energy for them. But and incubus will spoil over time, and when they are of no more use, then a vampire will drain him dry. Their fingers become talons for the purpose of fighting, and that’s definitely inspired by harpies. They’re strong and fast, but I wanted them to have a little bit of a transformation from the usual beautiful creatures.

Making a vampire isn’t simple. It’s also a conscious choice, unlike becoming an incubus. The latter is similar to the usual tradition of western vampires, and once bitten, or in my case, once a man has sex with a vampire, he is enthralled and cannot escape her. To actually become a vampire, the recipient must willingly choose to have her soul ripped from her body and to be given a piece of Lilith’s instead. It’s a kind of magic, and it does involve the back of the neck, a recurring theme in the series. It’s more important that they commit the abomination of killing their human soul that makes them despicable. I don’t have any sympathy for vampires, theirs is a conscious choice, and Xanatos hates them most passionately because he sees himself in them.

Lilith is a mysterious figure for the present time. She is the mother of the vampires, and has shattered her own soul to make them. Soul is a relative term in this case, and I could have easily used essence or energy. I wished to keep the western christian language consistent, however, the mind/body/soul parts of Greek philosophy are much more fluid in this world. And the human soul is special, it is something no other creature has. Lilith is also drawn from mythology, and the careful scholar will discover quite a lot if she looks into that name a bit further.

Werewolf

The werewolf has always held a special place in mythology. I make only minor changes, and fully admit that Underworld was a huge influence for my conception. However, Chris really redefined their look, moving them from the big and bulky wolves seen in that movie and others, to something more like Anubis, who I brought into this world as another name for Fenrir himself. We’ll post some of those sketches soon. They are tied to the moon, but aren’t necessarily tied to the full moon. The idea was that the curse is only mandatory during that time, like the standard story goes; but as a choice, the cursed man could transform at other times. I always make choices very important to the story; even the lack of one at times.

Aside from those minor technicalities, the wolves are pretty much untouched from the usual mythology. It’s Fenrir himself that got the biggest overhaul. I’ve taken little more than the name and basic idea from Norse mythology, but drastically recast his back story; something for future books. I loved the idea of a wolf so nasty that he had to be bound lest he destroy the world. There needed to be a primal villain in the story, something that was about killing simply to kill. Most other creatures have some sort of reason, a purpose in doing the evil deeds. Even the senselessness of demons is tied to their fall; but the wolves are pure murder. Yet I wanted to preserve the curse of it; at least mostly. It’s a very rich dichotomy that will be fun to explore.

Angels and Demons

There are quite a few named demons, and I’ll cover those further on. Some general comments about angels, fallen and not. I found a ritual for summoning an angel, and part of it was imagining a nine foot tall being made of light. It didn’t mention wings, but I couldn’t have angels without wings, it wouldn’t be right; especially since I’m trying to keep to western mythology where appropriate. But I have a huge problem with every single angel I’ve ever seen; the wings are way too small. A Golden Eagle is three feet long, and has a wing span of up to seven feet. Yet most angels and dragons even have wings smaller than their own bodies, this and their huge, very dense skeletons ruins the suspension of disbelief. That’s why my nine foot angels have over twenty foot wing spans. And though I don’t say it, I’m assuming a bit of magic in their body weight, being creatures of light.

All angel and demon names are real, pulled from lists available in a lot of places. I’ve even tried to preserve their original roles in the infernal or heavenly orders, but there are some changes. However, I did seriously look into the established hierarchy. You’ll notice words like Power and Dominion come up from time to time. This is drawing from the early Hebrew tradition where each city had their own God, Yahweh being theirs, although when most of these other gods were active, their god was usually just called El, or El Shaddai. But the back story, even about the fall is changed to suit my needs. I actually found an interesting story that inspired my version, cobbled together from some differing elements. Xaphan’s traditional association with the snake for instance.

Demons become more of a focus in the later books of the series, so for the moment, I’ll just outline those few that we come to know very well in Forgotten.

Uriel

In a few lists of the Seraphim and Archangels, Uriel appears. It was important to me that all angel names have el on the end, meaning of course god. It was the concept of tetra that really drew Uriel from the pages of myth into a character in the book. Four principal angels, associated with the four winds; Uriel with the south. But obviously there’s the four corners of the earth, or the four pillars. It was necessary to keep that kind of tradition, and make sure that Lucifer was part of it. Uriel and he are brothers, the closest of any angels. It makes their interaction so visceral. Uriel turning his spear upon his own kind, his own brother. It could have been Michael or Gabriel, but both of them have gotten so much time already that I wanted someone new. There was some reference to Uriel being strong I think, and that definitely pushed him forward. I started to imagine a very forceful angel, and worked out what that would look like.

Uriel is special to the series, in Forgotten he is the reminder that Xanatos is not good. As the word angel means, he is a messenger, a representative for God in the story. But he is also fallen in his own way; and that makes him dynamic and interesting. He hasn’t seen God since the fall. That changed him, and made him the intrusive being that he is. I loved the idea of tying his hands by divine decree so that something as powerful as an angel must stand back and watch as his mortal enemies run amuck. If you spend a minute, you start to see why he finds himself on a despicably intimate level with someone like Xanatos.

Xaphan

For the first book, there needed to be something undeniably evil for Xanatos to run up against. Especially since his own moral position is relative at best. If there is one thing that seems universal among all cultures and creatures, it’s the protection of the young; children are sacred. Thus it is divine decree that the innocent, those under thirteen, cannot be harmed by a demon, or a demon born. The penalty and enforcement of this are oblique, but God is not beyond striking the offender down with the iconic lightning bolt, although in Hebrew myths, it’s just that the offender drops dead as though struck by an invisible hand. What Xaphan has done is to take those who can harm children and foster them, guide them and support them. Thus he really is the demon of child molesters.

Using his mythology and snake affinity, I twisted him until I got what I desired. A conspirator in the real reason for the fall, and also a truly evil demon, whom other demons hate on principal. There is more to him than just that, but such things are better left for another time. In Forgotten, he is that which even Legion can agree is worthy of being named villain, and for which he must die.

The Voice

Not technically a demon, this fascinating man is one of my favorites. His origin is the Metatron who was also believed to be an ascended human being. I figured that if God has a voice, Lucifer would get one for himself as well. I won’t put much else down because his story is so closely linked with Xanatos. Pay attention to him, and to what he says about himself. It’s almost all from my own head, and thus has little to do with real myths.

Lucifer

Forget most of what you know. Take the name and start there. He is the bringer of light; most beautiful of all the angels. He’s got a plan, and that’s all you get to know.

Mages

Their story comes later, but I have drawn from traditional magic. What I did is arrange the very differing disciplines and elements into a heirarchy so that there was inherent consistency. Many, many stories are yet to be told about the various kinds of magicians. It is magic itself that deserves a small notation. The power of thought is overwhelming, and though I don’t beleive I can move objects, I would desperately wish to some days. Magic is the shaping of reality based on one’s own concentration and belief. You’ll see familiar wand waving, but you’ll also see things that look more like telekinesis; the point is magic can be whatever you think, though there are laws that govern it, most of the time. Just wait for Avalon.

Dragons: A Special Note

There are a few references to dragons in Forgotten, but no actual big scaly flying monsters. This is a classic Dungeons and Dragons bit, where the mythical beasts can assume human form. I joke quite a bit about Paolini, but all jokes aside, I’d much rather he have fun playing with the talking beasts. I’m very attached to human or nearly human characters. Monsters aren’t as fun to think about for me, and I generally give them a very limited role in the stories. However, there are actual dragons and they have a unique story that is mostly my own creation as well. They have such a hallowed place in western mythology that I had make a place for them in the stories. When it all boils down though, it’s a story about people and the problems of people. I really love Battlestar Galactica for that very reason. I know it’s SciFi/Fanatsy, but I want it to be a gritty drama about a real boy and a real girl, with lots of humor to keep it moving. Talking dragons are better suited for someone that truly delights in the idea. I’m too busy being amused by my dirty jokes.