Worldbuilding Wednesday 7/5/23: From the Spellbook of the White Witch (Narnia XLII)

Four AI depictions of how terrifying the White Witch could be. Note Midjourney V5.2 is still having some problems with digits.

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the White Witch (Jadis) demonstrates several magical powers that show her might: she can disguise herself and her servants as inanimate objects, can summon evil supernatural creatures and cause them to do her bidding, and control the weather to the point where Winter reigns in Narnia for a century. She also has a powerful magic item: a wand that turns living beings into stone. Even if she had no more magic than this, she is quite powerful.

But I am sure she had more. Here’s a glimpse of them, available for fanfic if you write it.

 

The White Witch’s Spells and Magic Items

Bitter Massif: Created a snowstorm on top of a mountain that would sweep down into the valleys below. Instrumental in the witch’s conquest of Narnia.

Breakfast of Water: To torture her prisoners the witch used this spell. Captives were  given only a pan of water a day for sustenance, but it contained all the nutrients to keep them healthy and alive.

Cape of The Sabretooth: One of the witch’s most prized garments, made from the pale, tawny skin of one of these great felines of the north. The fangs of the cat were worked into two ivory clasps to hold the cape closed. The very sight of it inspired a primal fear in all of Narnia’s animals.

Chamberbracken: When the witch wanted to punish some poor creature she would cast this spell on their dwelling, which caused it to be filled with weeds and thorns.

Flattering Ballad: The witch cast this spell on musicians so they would sing her praises and deeds of accomplishment. Unfortunately, in the time of the Long Winter, humans and nymphs had long left her kingdom, leaving her with the less than tuneful warblings of the dwarves.

Maropher’s Advanced Kraken Summoning: The witch used this spell only once, during a state visit by her to the Lone Isles. It summoned a giant kraken from the depths to pull her ship, as she had no human sailors.

Nose of Salt: Used to punishment the disobedient, this spell made them feel their face had shoved nose-first into a bowl of salt crystals and kept there until they were almost unconscious.

Petrification until Approval: Often the witch cast this spell on the statues she made with her wand, releasing their petrification when a certain condition was met. It was common knowledge  underlings who displeased her were petrified and posted as guards, coming back to life only if intruders entered their area.

Scroll of Collection: The witch collected her taxes and other tributes with the aid of this device. It looks like a tightly rolled scroll. On her command, it opened out so the oppressed could deposit their coins or other small treasures on the parchment. The scroll then rolled up again and flew back to its owner.

Winter Smoke Ring: Creates a hovering, freezing ring of misty vapor that encircles an opponent and wraps them tightly, chilling them so badly they can’t move.

Fire and Ice

The two villains of Tolkien’s trilogy and Lewis’s Narnia come together for tea. Scones, anyone?

 

Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/28/23: Elegant Es

E is not one of my favorite letters, I’ll admit. True, it can be elegant, extravagant, enticing, enjoyable, and a slew of other en- words. But it’s also enormous as an elephant, with an old-fashioned, outdated, Victorian feel. Sound out the words Elizabeth, euphonious, evangelist, and Euphrates, and you will see what I mean.

Though I don’t use it often for characters, if  you’re writing fantasy, here are a few.

 

Character names beginning with E

Male

Ebliardo

Edrid

Elach

Elehir

Elzbald

Ensudo

Enzamer

Epion

Erán

Ereshnay

Erstillund

Esliz

Esnyo

Ettu

Euchravius

Euphorio

Female

Eáfine

Elfleta

Eghina

Ehlessa

Elsaria

Enaura

Endalyne

Engra

Erinka

Erizandra

Erla

Erlandza

Essna

Etanjë

Eullia

Evwen

Surnames

Eastbriar

Eastmuir

Edelspenny

Edgepipe

Eigwister

Ellandun

Emulion

Enderweldt

Erkskaith

Erthmoss

Eschfarroë

Espantos

Esvrark

Eubell

Evenbarn

Exgarden

Narnian Witches: The White Witch

Artist: Mab Graves

Over the past year I’ve come across many more depictions of my favorite Narnian character, The White Witch, who is open to more interpretations than any of the “good” characters the reader is supposed to align with. The children mostly differ in the color of their hair, while Aslan is nothing other than a golden-maned and golden-pelted lion. (Well, in the stage versions he varies.) The Talking Beasts are always anthropomorphized animals, and the Narnian humans always adhere to types found in a Victorian version of 12th century Europe. But The White Witch, because she is an invador and an alien to Narnia, can be treated more exotically.

Take the illustration at the left by Mab Graves in which both the witch and Edmund have oversized, doll-like heads as if they belong in a children’s book. But instead of being cute, the heaping of treacle makes them eerie.

Art by Cian O’Reilly

This sketch by Cian O’Reilly shows the witch speeding along in her sleigh. She doesn’t need reins to control her reindeer, only an imperious gesture. She’s also overtly sexy with her exposed bosom and thighs.

A narrow and elegant witch that’s more covered up, but still sexy, with the long black hair that’s canon for her.

An ink sketch similar to Pauline Baynes’, but with the witch’s costume taking after the 1988 BBC production.

Another sketch, this time pencil. She could be either in Narnia or Charn, but I’m guessing Narnia because of her fur cape.

White Witch by C. Desiree Blackburn

A lovely painting with a sparsely designed gold crown, black hair, and full red lips. She looks both sensual and cold. Her contracted pupils are especially strange against her pale blue eyes.

The witch as a vamp. Too happy to be evil? The crown of ice crystals growing out of her hair takes after Tilda Swinton’s depiction.

A super photoshopped witch with flying hair and an oversized staff instead of a wand.

A White Witch from a stage production looking more like a run-of-the-mill Snow Queen than an evil Empress who once ruled an entire planet.

This costume shows more originality with its lacy beaded turban dripping with pearls.

Not sure if this is the White Witch, but if so, it’s another fine original costume.

Lastly, the witch as a silhouette, with Edmund in the corner.

 

Summer of Narnia 2023

Since summer starts with the solstice, it’s time for Summer of Narnia 2023! Photo essays, commentary, critiques, and much more!

(On the above scene. It’s an AI landscape generated in ERNIE that embodies the otherworldly feel of Narnia, particularly its unexplored west and south. I mean, volcanic mesas covered in soft spring grass, with waterfalls? That’s a place that couldn’t exist on earth.)

The School of Whoredom
[Reading Challenge 2023]


The School of Whoredom

by Pietro Aretino
(Translated by Rose Maria Falvo, Alessandro Gallenzi and Rebecca Skipwith)
Hesperus Press Ltd., 2003

[ #31 — No hablo: A book originally written in another language (either a translation or in the original if you’d like!)]

The School for Whores, by Pietro Aretino, is not long, but boy was it funny. Aretino was a satirist of 16th century Italy and this piece, which is part of a  longer one, is about an aging prostitute named Nanna who imparts all the wisdom she’s collected over the years to her daughter Pippa, who is about to enter the same profession. The story, which spans an afternoon and night, is told entirely in back-and-forth dialogue between the two, almost like an unstaged play. Like The Worm Ourobouros, which I reviewed in 2018, it’s one of those books you can open at any point and find some literary candy to savor. So, I’ll open a page at random, to  Nanna giving some advice on how to conduct oneself at dinner.

… when the salad arrives, don’t rush at it like a cow at hay, but take teeny-weeny mouthfuls, and put them in your mouth without greasing so much as a finger — don’t lower your head, gobbling up the food straight off your plate, as I have seen some oafs do. Keep majestically erect, extending your hand graciously, and when you ask for a drink, do it with a nod of your head. If the decanters are on the table, help your self and don’t fill the glass to the brim — slightly over halfway will do.

As this is a story about courtesans, sex comes into the mix as well. Not pornographic, but it is bawdy and bedroom antics are alluded to without coyness. Everyone, customers, fellow prostitutes, and moralizers on them both are skewered in good satirical fun. It reminded me, in fact, of Moliere’s School for Wives for its takes on male delusion and hypocrisy, except the hypocritical ones were being gossiped about and not proclaiming their views on stage.

With all its twists and turns of language, and allusions to the people and social graces of another time, the work demanded my full attention to read, and I had to pace myself in spite of the breeziness of the dialogue. Kudos to the translators (there were three) for bringing the piece to life in modern English. I was well entertained by their efforts.

(I found this book where I find so many others, at my local Little Free Library.)

The Algae Birds of Paradise

Besides algae, birds of paradise are the only other beings whose heads are attached to complex plant like structures. In India, a flower located on the back of their heads was considered to be a personification of the divine. While algae may not seem to be very animalistic, the more birdlike beings that appear throughout the ancient world sound more animalistic than the majority of alien gods found in science fiction movies.

The above picture was generated in Midjourney, the premium (for now) art engine for which I recently bit the bullet on and paid for a subscription. The first sentence of the nonsensical quote, also AI-generated, provided the description, and James Audubon and the pre-Raphaelites the artistic parameters.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/14/23: Dickensian Twists

This facsimile of a Victorian couple was generated entirely in AI (Midjourney, to be precise.)

Victorian writer Charles Dickens was known for the odd and whimsical names he gave to his characters, presumably so readers would better remember them. As his stories were first serialized in publications over many weeks or months, this makes sense.

These odd names also served a satirical purpose.  Some of the more memorable of these are Mr. M’Choakumchild (a cruel schoolmaster), Wackford Squeers (another cruel schoolmaster), naughty Master Bates and Dick Swiveller,  and of course tightwad and killjoy Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Since many fantasy novels are being set in an approximation of a Dickens world, here’s some names I randomgenned.

 

Fantasy names with a Charles Dickens flavor

FEMALE

Willadelle Shyshiver

Princess Toreena

Lallina Vavandant

Twana Darlmeant

Patrensa Redhull

Peradelle Lycon

Genever Tytier

Nyssica Brancowel

Silina Kess

Bithany Helmslock

Adobel Traksnot

Jeseffa Goodspell

MALE

Ostius Bloedving

Elimske Gristlethrog

The Marquise of Lethersod

Chausember Hagsoul

Chervel Staphar

Adstan Thaumenflex

Granion Shadtrap

Gerstand Flaasmouth

Lambest Legandar

Thadchent Bronzebloem

Mydenter Ballsod

Halvage Blandblaes

Farewell to LZ May

Jimmy Page on a tricycle

Led Zeppelin May is over, and so it’s time to ramble on. But there’s enough material for another go-round next year. Until then, the Autumn lights my way…

 

Zeptoons, Part 2

On to the second part of my Zeptoons series.

There is much more to explore on Deviantart, including these toons by artist and writer electricsorbet, who, like her compatriot Nicola Rivka, mines LZ and other bands for worshipful and often satirical content. In her art she concentrates on the darker side of LZ: Jimmy’s heroin addiction. In this series, started but not finished, Jimmy passes out with his Nazi officer’s hat over his eyes and Robert and John Paul Jones are flummoxed about what to do.

Over the course of the panels the comatose Jimmy is bundled into a taxi and “thumps” into the side of the door. Strangely, her style doesn’t include any eyes for the boys.

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