AI art created in SDXL
I took inspiration from this Worldbuilding Wednesday Narnia post, specifying a 1920s children’s book illustration model. She’s sampling different rocks, sands, and minerals from her plate.
Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/19/24: What Do Dryads Eat? (Narnia LII)
Dryads, by Nikolai Efimovich Kuznetsov (1916)
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When Lucy saw … the trees were going to eat earth it gave her rather a shudder. But when she saw the earths that were actually brought to them she felt quite different. They began with a rich brown loam that looked almost exactly like chocolate; so like chocolate, in fact, that Edmund tried a piece of it, but he did not find it at all nice. When the rich loam had taken the edge off their hunger, the trees turned to an earth of the kind you see in Somerset, which is almost pink. They said it was lighter and sweeter. At the cheese stage they had a chalky soil, and then went on to delicate confections of the finest gravels powdered with choice silver sand. |
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I’ve always loved this passage from Prince Caspian, even though the rest of the book is problematical for me. It’s the first time Lewis goes into the nuts and bolts of his imaginary world… what, exactly, do mythological creatures eat? In fact, later, in The Silver Chair, he tells us what a centaur’s diet is like: two stomachs, a horse one for oats, grains, and mash, and a human one for a super-sized hearty English breakfast.
Extrapolating on the four types of dryad food Lewis gives us above, I’ve creating a whole menu with help from ChatGPT. Who wants to open up a dryad diner or fast-food restaurant?
What dryads like to eat
| Alpine Moiraine | Crisp and refreshing with tastes of pine and fresh glacial till. Scraped from rocks at high altitude and mixed with lichen. |
| Black Volcanic Sand | Crisp and gritty with a peppery kick. The texture is coarse and grainy. Usually eaten as a side dish. |
| Cave Pond Silt | Light and delicate with a soda-mineral freshness. |
| Coastal Sand | Salty, briny, crunchy mix of inorganic matter with silicates and kelp. |
| Cottage Garden Mulch | Rich, savory mix of organic and inorganic material with umami notes. Layers of decayed leaves and woodchips give it a hearty, meaty taste akin to a well-aged stew. |
| Fenlands Topsoil |
Comes from waterlogged areas like swamps, marshes, and tidelands. Rich and sticky with a gooey texture and high acidity. |
| Flourite | This mineral tastes sweet and cool like mint. |
| Forest Floor | A hearty mix of decaying leaves, fungi, and forest detritus, this soil has a soft mushy texture with a savory taste. It’s a staple of the dryad diet. |
| Lapis Lazuli, crushed | Used by Medieval human artists to create blue pigment for manuscript illustrations, this gemstone is a delicacy for trees. It tastes sweet and tart like a mix of berries and minerals. |
| Mangrove Mud | Mix of decayed mangrove roots and tidal silt, this soil is sticky, salty, and sweet with a hint of brackish water. |
| Mica | Flaky and sweet, widely eaten for dessert. Its many layers make it the equivalent of puff pastry to the trees. |
| Obsidian | Sharp and bitter with a glassy, burnt caramel-coffee note, eaten sparingly as an apterif. |
| Peat | Dark and robust with a smoky aftertaste. The dryad equivalent of a fine aged steak. |
| Quartz Crystals | Considered a form of a candy for young dryads. It has a crisp and clean flavor with a sparkling sweetness. |
| Red Clay | Smooth and buttery with slight tastes of copper and iron. |
| Spring Compost | Only available seasonally. Has a sweet, fruity flavor with a touch of citric tartness. |
Drakenschip?
This Dutch language edition of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader does away with the ship’s poetic name, calling it simply “drakenschip.” Which means … dragon ship … which calls to mind … Vikings! Not sure what the problem with translation was.
This book is interesting as well for the illustration, which is one I haven’t run across before. Sometimes foreign editions of the Chronicles throw a curveball in that they don’t rely on the huge catalog of Narnia artwork already lying around and held by the greater publishing companies. For example, Pauline Baynes’ original illustrations have been colorized, chopped up, added on, and incorporated into many new cover designs over the decades to give the new printings a modern feel. But this one feels like a one-off, a special commission.
El León, La Bruja, y el Ropero
A proposed design for a Spanish language edition of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe using a collage technique. I like it.
My Narnia Fanfic
Since the end of the 2023 Summer of Narnia, I’ve written more Narnia fanfic on Archive of Our Own, which I’ll link to below.
Shades of Green Series
Stories about different aspects of Prince Rilian and the Green Witch, some serious, some erotic, some humorous. Each story exists in its own universe. Contains currently five stories.
Malice in Jade
Malignment in Emerald
Misadventure in Malachite
Misogyny and Verdigris
Mayhem and Moss
Every Nook and Cranny, set during the raid on the White Witch’s castle in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
A Child of Charn, the evil of Charn exposed and laid bare.
A Year and a Day, a humorous story about Queen Swanwhite.
Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/12/24: Narnian Cat Names (Narnia LI)
Ginger turns into a plain old scaredy cat from the sight of Tash in the stable (AI art)
Cats get short shrift in The Chronicles of Narnia. Oh, sure, Aslan is a lion, and leopards and panthers are also mentioned. But domestic cats, unlike dogs, do not get to be heroes. In fact, a domestic cat is one of the notable villains of the series, the creatively named Ginger of The Last Battle. In that book the slick-as-ice, self-serving puss agrees with the Calormene invading forces that there is no real Aslan, or Tashlan as the case is, but it’s useful to let the other animals believe that there is for purposes of the invasion. To prove this he volunteers to enter the stable where “Tashlan” is hiding, speak to him, and walk out again, all the while knowing nothing is there. However, the real Tash has since entered, and it’s a shock to the first-time reader when Ginger runs out, frightened to death, the shock of the experience turning him from a Talking Cat into an ordinary cat.
On the lighter side, the owners of this male cat named him Narnia because magic seems to have given him a split face.
Since Ginger proves there are Talking Cats in Narnia, they surely have a way of naming themselves.
Cats being the predators they are, they would have many names for the speed, quality, and direction of motion. They might combine this with names of body parts, play objects, natural tendencies, and elements of nature.
Narnian Cat Names
| Baldbrow
Blackrunner Brindlechat Brindletuff Brookpatch Bugbatter Bushpad Curlyweed Daymarcher Digs-Alone Dirtbelly Fastpounce Fatfur Fat-Surprise Fernstripes Fleetflip Flowerbreast Fourth-Sun Frostwhisker Goodclick Goodmew |
Graypatches
Hazelpaws Luckystretch Meerhiss Proudgaze Roughpaw Satinback Scratchleg Shywrestle Sixth-Shadow Slowstretch Slybiter Snagwhisker Softbelly Stonegazer Stripeteacher Twigleg Whiteribs Wintertouch Wisehear Yellowhaunches |
The White Witch Returns, Part 2
Artwork by Collin Grant
One of the most iconic scenes in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the movies made of it, is of a naive, disgruntled Edmond meeting the White Witch in the woods with her sleigh. Most depictions show him startled, as here. The witch turns toward him casually, tall, proud, and imperious, about to utter the classic words “But what are you? Are you a great overgrown dwarf that has cut off its beard?” Words that Lewis later forgot she said in The Magician’s Nephew, where he shows how she met human children and well knows what they look like. Maybe all the years spent alone in the company of wolves and dwarves muddled her memory.
The witch looks older than the usual glamour gal depiction and heavier, adding a welcome maturity and power. More like the Evil Stepmother from the Disney movie Cinderella than Maleficent from the Disney Sleeping Beauty (the classic animated ones, not the remakes.) Edmond’s outfit of brown shorts, green wool vest, and knee socks is the classic one for these depictions too.
Artwork by Puppeteer-for-kings
A different version of the meeting. Edmond looks like he’s bowing here and he’s swapped his wool vest for a sweater. The witch doesn’t look too menacing, but that’s part of the stylization.
Artwork by faQy
Edmond looks like he’s in trouble here from this all-hands, grabby witch.
Artwork by Caren Morys
“Here’s your Turkish Delight.” This artist adhered to the book: gold crown and short wand, not a staff as in so many other depictions.
Mara, Dark Mother, by Georgy Demchev
Not the White Witch, but she could be. I like her attitude.
This White Witch, from a stage production, knows how to make a dramatic entrance! You can see her in the background of this pic; here she’s front and center. I love how her character is delineated by three elements: oversized furs, oversized wispy crown, and a white pompadour. Costuming at its finest.
From a children’s stage production — performed by children. This girl has a promising future as an actress.
A Russian-inspired witch who is smiling too cheerfully.
Artwork by Rachel Elese
A sneaky, sneering witch with clawed fingers holding the stone dagger. She has the black hair of the book but Tilda Swinton’s crystal crown.
The White Witch Returns, Part 1
It’s time for some more depictions of Narnia’s White Witch, like this spooky one of a dark-complected, Drow-like (the black-skinned, white-haired chaotic evil elves of AD&D fame) Jadis riding sidesaddle on a white wolf.
An anime White Witch with a night sky of storms and snowflakes in her hair. The pale blue and black combination is effective.
A chrome statue of Jadis at the Narnia sculpture group in C. S. Lewis Square, Belfast, Ireland. The sculptor is Maurice Harron. Note her world-weary, hooded red eyes and snakelike pupils! Other subjects include Aslan, Mr. Tumnus, and Maugrim. Did you know C. S. Lewis was originally from Ireland? I didn’t.
An otherworldly White Witch offers Edmund, who looks 16 or 17 here, some Turkish Delight, but he doesn’t look too pleased. The male figure is clearly based on Skandar Keynes from the Walden movies.
Ice Queen, by Jeff Simpson
This one makes a good White Witch even though it’s not meant to be her.
A proud White Witch with a prouder nose. The hump gives her character and maturity.
. White Witch by Ammotu
A more elaborately clad White Witch. Aesthetically, I like the fancy costumes, but it’s hard for me to picture her running around in the woods wearing them.
Let’s peek inside the Witch’s statue garden. The free-floating hood she wears at her shoulders is a different take.
“Stoning” a group of satyrs here with her staff/wand.
And lastly, how about a slice of delicious White Witch cake? White chocolate of course, with coconut cream frosting.
Summer of Narnia 2024
The White Witch (AI generated)
Summer dawns once again in Narnia’s sky, and with it, articles, fanfic reviews, visual essays, and other analysis of this timeless classic fantasy series. Put on your buskins, clean and sheathe your sword, eat some (non-Talking) bear meat, and let’s explore!
Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/5/24: The Best of Twittersnips (Anime, Pokemon, Video Games)
What other media product has such high demand as these three nowadays?
If you want to reference a completely imaginary one, here’s a list.
Anime, Pokemon, Video Games
| Anime |
Diversion: The First Sign Love and Hunting for Heroes Shogun Love Go-Go |
| Pokemon |
Rhadaroon Simuroodle Spagglespark |
| Video Games |
Dragon’s Maze: Fate Reforged Fighting Climax Ignition Gaiden: Valor and Vengeance Mystatherium Judgement Symbol Lord of Montoon Skies of Extinction Timeframe Genesis Pilgrim Sigil |