A Child of Charn, Part 1 [Narnia Fanfic]

 

How bad was the Empire of Charn? Very, very, very bad.

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A Child of Charn

 

Her mother had told her not to go, but she wanted to see it.

Saffla, a common farmers’ daughter of House Tricklewater, Goodworks Farming District Precinct VII of Sadelnon Province — which once, eons ago, had been the city-state of Kurm before the magicians of Charn invaded it, ransacked it, and razed it to the ground —  pattered through the fields between hillocks of freshly planted rice. The sky rumbled, signaling a storm to come. The air was close and humid, the red-orange sun tinting the clouds. Every morning Saffla’s mother and father prayed together to ensure the sun’s continued life. Hundreds of centuries ago, they said, the sun had been bright yellow, giving off a pure, clear light. But with time even good things decayed, like unharvested crops, and only the earnest faith of the common people kept the sun in good health.

The Royal House of Charn said otherwise. They said their magic was what kept the sun from dying. Their enemies claimed the Royal House’s magic was, in fact, responsible for the sun’s decay, draining the sun’s fire and vitality through its profligate use.  Saffla kept no opinion on the matter. All she knew were the green fields, the seasons of planting and harvest, and the high wall of dull stone that enclosed her, and them.

Outside the wall was Charn. The city was everywhere, in every direction: north, south, east and west, climbing the hills and mountains like sunrise, nosing into the valleys like a hound. There was no point in Saffla contemplating a life away from the rice paddies. Everywhere was the same.

Other farmer’s children, like her, were hurrying to see the spectacle. It was the first time in a generation a Gifting was to pass by Precinct VII on its way to Charn-the-Center. (Everywhere was Charn, and thus nowhere; so the term was used to refer to the palace and temple complexes of its dense, rotten heart. Saffla, a true being of her world, did not think of it as such, having nothing more wholesome to compare it to. Like the red-gold sun, it simply was.) She should have nodded at them to be friendly, but to do so would call attention to herself. One of them might tell her mother how she had stolen away from her work.

She finally reached the end of the paddies and hopped the short fence that separated them from drier land. A boulder was nearby where she sat to put on her shoes, which had been tied together by the laces and banging around her neck as she ran. On her small, plump legs she wore leather greaves for protection from the cold water and its leeches, and over them, one of her favorite tunics embroidered with blue flax flowers. The sun peered out from the clouds and a fire rainbow formed, transcending the gold and ivory mansions, the tall palms and cycads, that staircased up the hills, places she would never go to unless she got lucky and married into a household there.

But she was no great beauty. She was completely ordinary and likely as not to die where she has been born, here, in these fields.

Which was why she would see the Gifting procession, just this once.

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Worldbuilding Wednesday 8/3/22: Mythical Lions (Narnia XXXIX)

The Babylonian zizsang

One thing the world has no shortage of are mythical creatures based on lions, as I showed in this post. This is likely the reason there are no manticores or chimerae in Narnia; they would have stolen Aslan’s thunder!

There are even more bizarre lion monsters in the world of heraldry, but that’s for another post.

Here’s some randomgenned lion creatures that might be real but aren’t.

 

Mythical Lions that don’t exist

Aristanduran: A lion god of the ancient Near East with bird’s plumage instead of a mane, a human body, and protuberant fangs. He holds a thresher in one paw so it’s likely he was an agricultural deity.

Asadlip: A white lion with the head of a crocodile and twelve eyes, the Asadlip was the deity in charge of irrigation for the ancient Egyptian city of Semliph.

Camblehav: A many-legged lion common on European coats of arms. The number of legs varies from six to twelve.

Gallaslan: A mythical monster said to roam 15th century France. It was the size and shape of a lion but had black, shaggy fur and an extra row of sharp teeth in its mouth. The creature’s rear legs resembled those of a hare, enabling it to jump, and it had small red eyes that burned like coals. The creature was magical in that ordinary weapons could not harm it, only those that had been consecrated by a priest.

Jampasangha: A mythical Indonesian spirit with two heads, that of a lion and that of a wild boar, with a slim body like that of a deer. Jampasangha are very shy and live in the forest.

Kirleijona: A Finnish lion-like beast who was the embodiment of Winter. It had long, silky white fur, a black nose, eyes, and claws, and the inside of its mouth was pale gray. The Kirleijona dined on walrus and elephant seals, and was even said to eat polar bears. Hunters would leave the beast a small offering after they broke their camps. The pine forest bordering the tundra was its abode. It often made an appearance in Finnish fairy tales.

Klaarlowen: A monster from German Medieval Romance stories. It looks like a furless lion with a tortoise’s beak and feet and is very wise.

Korshizhi: A small nature spirit from Japan that lived in flowing water and resembled an algae-covered lion living inside a turtle’s shell. The lion’s head had rough horns and human ears. The shell was a purplish black in color with small green spots. These spirits were mischievous bordering on malicious. One of their favorite things to do was tearing off butterfly’s wings. If one went walking by a river or stream and saw a small pile of discarded wings, it was wisest to cross at another spot.

Krakasimh: A hybrid of lion and Oriental dragon, covered with golden fur and shining greenish-yellow scales, with the naked legs and taloned feet of a bird of prey. Krakasimh live in a supernatural realm running parallel to the mortal world. When a krakasimh roars the thunder sounds in this world. These beasts do not breathe fire but scalding steam.

Lomacasoo: Part lion, part eland (a large African antelope) the lomacasoo hunts husbands who desert their wives. It walks on its hooved hind legs and uses its lion front paws to catch its prey. Instead of roaring, it emits a birdlike mew.

Lowenhetch: A creature from Germanic myth. A huge lion with cursed three horns on its head who liked to eat virgin maidens, until it was forcibly baptized by St. Johannes of the Ewer. Afterwards, its horns fell off and it followed the saint like a dog. Its bones are said to be entombed at Augschlussfathenberg Cathedral in the Rhineland.

Nagalion: Cross between a naga and a lion. Basically a lion that is a snake from its haunches down. It is covered with golden scales and has a forked tongue.

Oeslonne: A legendary lion, perhaps a sub-species, from Dutch-occupied South Africa. The oeslonne had a small horn on its nose and was a solitary hunter. It preferred to eat horses and zebra. Its fur was rough and wiry and so was its mane. No oeslonnes have been sighted since the late 1700s.

Psloma: The alchemical embodiment of “Greek Fire.” A lioness with green scales who breathes yellow flames.

Simbadoon: A lion with a face that is as ugly as a warthog’s, with tusks and the long ears of an ass. It was often included in Medieval bestiaries.

Singhalisk: Cross between a lion and a basilisk.

Yevensing: A Lithuanian symbol of rulership, a lion with an owl’s face that is holding two spears in its claws.

Zizsang: A Babylonion demigod that resembles a lion with the legs of a horse. In color it is golden brown. It can breathe fire and also use magic. This monster is mentioned in Biblical apocryphal literature where it is linked with Leviathan and Behemoth.

Jadis 2022: Zenith

In this post I’ll present depictions of Jadis that are my personal favorites and catch something of her character.

First, take the above. I doubt it’s meant to be Jadis, and the Gothic church background, with pews, is all wrong, but that costume is something, and so is the blank but dreadful look in her eyes as she casts a spell.

A traditional White Witch depiction that doesn’t break new ground, but the artist’s technique is wonderful.

A portrait of Jadis in which she looks like a glamorous 1940s movie star. Her complexion is healthily pink rather than pasty white or pale blue. She looks regal yet brittle. Say the wrong thing and she’ll snap.

Not meant to be Jadis, but I like that overdone celestial headpiece that resembles a Chinese pagoda. This Jadis is menacing rather than angry and dynamic.

This Jadis is triumphant, sadistic, and mean-spirited, despite the little butterfly bow on her cape. The winged crown is unique and there’s something about her eyebrows that screams “Frida Kahlo” to me.

The top illustration is Russian and so is the one below, which are meant to depict the Snow Queen, or Winter Queen, of Russian fairy tales. Usually this lady is friendly and inviting, but these depictions are far from that.

A theatrical costume for the witch in which she wears a feathered showgirl headress and a sort-of Victorian military jacket fitted with panniers, the open front showing beige jodhpurs and black boots. It’s a different approach, and I like it.

The pale femme fatale offers Edmund some Turkish Delight, which he eagerly eats.

Jadis of Charn, in the red gown that is sort-of fanon for her visual depiction and a sword that drips green venom, alluding to her envy, perhaps. Another piece with great technique and great atmosphere.

Aslan’s Cousins

The Green Lion Devouring the Sun, an alchemical image dealing with the transformation of matter

Aslan, the God figure in the Chronicles of Narnia series, is but one of a long line of powerful sacred, mythological, or  supernatural lion creatures. And no wonder. Lions are apex predators, golden as the sun in color, and the males have a kingly mane. Tigers may be larger and more eye-catching, but they lack this crowning glory. In addition, lions roamed over a larger part of the civilized world, including Europe,  the Middle East, and Western Asia at one time, and became firmly embedded into the myth structure there. Tigers, on the other hand, were Asiatic cats. Though figuring much in Indian myth, they played second fiddle to the lion even in the Far East.

The earliest mythic lions in Western civilization belonged to Mesopotamia, like the Shedu below.  Like the Sphinx of Egypt, the Shedu  had a lion body, wings, and, usually, the head of a bearded human male. Sometimes the lion body was swapped for a bull one. Shedu were not monsters, but sacred guardians and symbols of kingship, often appearing on city gates and palace doorways.

In Egypt, several deities were associated with lions, chief among them Sekhmet, who sported the head of a lioness, and Maahes, a god of war. There was also this strange creature below, known as the Ammit or soul-eater, who devoured sinful souls in the Egptian afterlife. The beast had the head of a crocodile, the forequarters of a lion, and the rear of a hippopotamus, all animals that must have been terrifying to the ancient Egyptians. The hippo aspect seems comical, but not when you consider that even today more people in Africa are killed by hippos than crocodiles or lions.

Egypt also had the Sphinx, of course, which came in several varieties: Gynosphinx (woman’s head); Androsphinx (man’s head); Criosphinx (ram’s head) and Hieracosphinx (falcon’s head.) The Hieracosphinx is illustrated below. Unlike a gryphon, which it resembles, it has no wings or eagle talons.

Isn’t it adorable how the mother and baby sphinx have matching headdresses?

In Hindu mythology it is common for the deities to have multiple avatars, some of them animals or animal mixes. Narasimha was an avatar of the god Vishnu, appearing in this form as a four-armed, lion-headed man with a living hood of living cobra hoods, if that makes sense.

Lions were still roaming Greece when the first Grecian myths were composed, which is how we got creatures like the Nemean Lion, which Hercules battled as part of his Twelve Labors, and the Grecian Sphinx who asked riddles of travelers and ate them if they couldn’t guess the answer. She was eventually bested by Oedipus and, very ladylike, threw herself off the cliff in defeat.

This is actually a 1883 print from Ingres’ painting of the myth, chosen in part because I couldn’t find a good color image of it on the internets, but also because it shows the detail better. Ingres actually did three versions of the painting, frustrated that none of them accurately reflected the vision he had in his artistic eye. I love this one because of the compositional and linear qualities, and also because it’s so damn silly. Why is Oedipus walking over a mountain pass stark naked, for starters?  It’s also silly how imposing Oedipus is, and how tiny the Sphinx is, and how she’s supposedly responsible for those scattered bones and wonderfully detailed right foot she saved for a later snack. I also love the doltish look on Oedipus’s face and how, by his gesture, he looks about to diddle the right nipple of the Sphinx, who draws back in alarm with her paw extended to swat him like an annoyed kitten.

Like Ingres’ Sphinx, the Nemean Lion is often depicted by artists in a decidedly underwhelming fashion. Some artists show a massive feline giving Herc a frightful wrestle for his life, other times, the beast is merely ocelot-sized and he bests it easily. I don’t get it.

If you’re looking for the Greek Chimera, by the way, another lion monster, read about it here.

Another lion creature with a human head is the Persian Manticore, which has a precise description from Claudius Aelianus, a Roman writer at the court of Emporer Septimus Severus in the second century CE. I’m not going to quote it because it’s long, but basically, the Manticore lived in India, had reddish, shaggy fur, a face like a man, and three rows of sharp teeth. It was the size of a lion and had a lion’s feet and claws, and, presumably, a lion’s body and tail, which ended in a scorpian’s sting. At the sides of the tail were sharp quills the beast could fire off like missiles.

The Manticore was said to be very fierce and had a hankering for the flesh of humans. Unlike this modern depiction, it did not have wings or horns. It was assumed to be an actual animal until science proved otherwise.

Another widespread lion creature is the Gryphon, which might have have evolved from the Egyptian Hieracosphinx, or from ancient Iran during the Bronze Age. The Gryphon (I prefer spelling it that way) was doubly blessed as a mythic creature, united the lion, king of the animals, with the eagle, the king of the birds. It came into its own in Europe during the Medieval Age, being depicted in church art, on coats of arms, in bestiaries, and in secular decoration. As with the Sphinx, it has many variations: the Hippogriff, the Keythong, the Opinicus, even a Gryphon-Marine, which has a fish’s tail. I suspect its popularity came in part because it’s just so much damn fun to draw.

Gryphons figure in the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian movie adaptations, but they are not mentioned in Lewis’ books.

In Hindu myth it’s another two powerful creatures who are united together: lion and elephant, in the hybrid beast known as the Gajasimha.

Hindu gajasingh

Unlike Europe and Near and Central Asia, artists of the Far East had no access to any lions living or dead, and their depictions of the beast are based only on hearsay. As in the West, lion creatures serve most commonly as guardians and protectors, like these depictions of Japanese Komainu from a modern artist.

Artwork by Yuko Montgomery

They are known by many other names in different cultures: Foo Lions, Foo Dogs, Shishi, Fengshui, Shizuguo, Shisa, Pixiu, Nian, Haetae, Barong.

The Snow Lion roams the Himalayas and is a symbol of Tibet. It has a white body and turquoise mane.

Like many Asian lion creatures it resembles a Lhasa Apso dog more than a real lion. Which begs the question, did the dog breed derive from representations of the mythical lion, or the mythical lion evolve from the appearance of the small, loud-barked shaggy dogs who guarded the temples?

Meanwhile, the city of Singapore took the Sea Lion, or Merlion, as its symbol. Merlions also figure in Southeastern Asian myth.

Lions also figure in the Bible. Christ is known as The Lion of Judah. In the New Testament, the Book of Saint Mark is symbolized by a lion, as Luke is by a lamb, Matthew by a human man, and John by an eagle.

In this charming Medieval illustration the lion is actually helping St. Mark with his writing by holding the end of the scroll for him. But for a more exotic lion we have to go to the Book of Revelations.

Then I saw a monster coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. Each of the ten horns was wearing a coronet, and blasphemous names were written on the heads. The monster I saw was like a leopard, with bear’s feet and a lion’s mouth.

I am sorry, God, but this is one silly and implausible-looking beast.

There’s also a bunch of lion-headed horses that rampage across the earth.

As I looked, this is how the horses and their riders appeared. They had breastplates made of fire, sapphire and sulphur. Their heads were like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke and brimstone came out of their mouths.

In the 21st century humans are making their own lion monsters. The big cat below is a liger, created by breeding a male lion to a female tiger.

Ligers tend to be larger than either cat and have an individual appearance depending on the roll of the genetic dice. This one has pale tiger stripes and a short mane the color of its coat. If that’s not exotic enough for you, there are white ligers (on the right, one of its parents is on the left.)

jaglions

A pair of lion-jaguar hybrids. The one in the back surprised the owners with her black coat, in which faint spots and rosettes can be seen.

It’s likely that the physical appearance of the Cave Lion and the American Lion likely resembled these big cats more than their maned African cousin. Cave Lions are featured in Palaeolithic art done by human ancestors … proving, indeed, that lions in the human imagination go way, way back.

Think about that the next time you read the Chronicles.

 

Worldbuilding Wednesday 7/27/22: Other Mythical Creatures of Narnia (Narnia XXXVIII)

germanic Wolpertinger

The Germanic Wolpertinger

This week’s post is a little different. I’m running out of things in Narnia to name, so I’m going to post a list of possibilities for Narnia fanfic writers: Aside from those mentioned in the books, what other sorts of mythological creatures might have resided in Narnia?

Lewis himself had a pretty catholic list of inhabitants, to excuse the pun. Most were from Greco-Roman myth: satyrs, centaurs, naiads. Others, mostly hostile, were from European myth: giants, witches, dragons, sea serpents. Then there are those dating from the legends and crude, printed bestiaries of the Medieval age: monopods, salamanders, unicorns. It’s a real mash-up, and one that fellow inkling J. R. R. Tolkien took issue with: he didn’t like the mixing of beings from different times and cultures. (Personally, I think Lewis also received inspiration from Disney’s Fantasia; it came out in 1940.)

It is interesting to note also what Lewis left out. There are no evil creatures from Greco-Roman myth, no harpies or gorgons or cyclops. (Some of these did make it into the movies, however.) There are no American creatures, North or South, or Asian ones. Though Jinn are mentioned in passing and what might be a lammasu, no Middle Eastern creatures reside in Narnia either, or Indian, or African. That the Indian subcontinent was left out is puzzling, as Lewis grew up when it was still part of the British Empire. They should be there, but they aren’t.

So, if Narnia-the-series had gone on and on, like the Wizard of Oz series did, what other creatures might be found?

 

Other Mythical Creatures that Might Live in Narnia

Alkonost and Sirin: Two mythical bird-women from Slavic mythology, rather like the Greek harpy, but good in nature. They were depicted as large, pheasant-like birds with the heads of beautiful women. Their singing had the power to bring joy and happiness to the good, and sorrow and pain to the evil. I could see there being a race of such bird-women.

Fairies/Sylphs/Cherubs/Putti: These winged humanoids are not mentioned as being inhabitants of Narnia, but they clearly belong there, if only to fill the elemental role as creatures of the air, as dwarves were of the earth and naiads of the waters. Oddly, they are mentioned in The Magician’s Nephew as living on Earth in ancient times.

Gajasimha: A lion with an elephant’s head from Hindu myth.

Hieracosphinx: A lion with a falcon’s head used in Egyptian art. Not a gryphon because it has no wings and doesn’t have the front body of the bird.

Hippogriff: Prominant in E.R. Eddison’s The Worm Ouroboros, the hippogriff is a horse that has the front part and wings of a giant eagle. It is not a mythic animal but one invented by a 15th century writer Ludovico Ariosto for his epic fantasy poem Orlando Furioso. Hippogriffs would serve Aslan as the gryphons do.

Icthyocentaur: The marine equivalent of a centaur. Humans from the waist up, sea-horses from the waist down.

Makara: A sacred animal from Hindu myth, a giant fish with the head of an elephant.

Merstag: A deer with a fish’s tail. These do not figure in myth, but were employed as decorative elements by the Romans.

Naga: A Hindu and Buddhist spirit/creature, a human who is a snake from the waist down. Nagas might live in the warmer or desert parts of Narnia.

Pantheon: An imaginary animal used in heraldry. It looks like a white doe with the tail of a fox and is spangled with markings on its coat that look like stars.

Roc: Jinn were mentioned in books 1 and 6 of the Chronicles, so why not a Roc? I can imagine it being a side adventure in The Voyage of the Dawn Trader.

Sea-lion: Basically, a merlion. A lion with a fish’s tail and, sometimes, webbed feet. An animal appearing on some European coats of arms and also in Southeast Asian myth.

Selkie: Shapechanging beings from Celtic myth who change from humans to seals, and vice versa, by putting on or taking off a fur skin.

Simurgh/Senmurv: A creature from Persian myth and art, appearing as a giant peacock with the front part of a canine and the legs and paws of a lion. It is benevolent, wise, and tender-hearted. It lays eggs but also suckles its young.

Sphinx: A sphinx has the body of a lion and the head of human.  From its shoulders grow the wings of a bird. I could see these being wise and benign creatures in Narnia, unlike the one of the myth of Odysseus.

Wolpertinger: A small animal from German folklore that combines the features of several forest animals, most commonly a hare with stag’s antlers and bird’s wings. Its Western Asian cousin is the al-mi’raj, a hare with golden fur, sometimes spotted, that sports a single horn, unicorn-style, on its head.

Yale: A large antelope-like creature the size of a hippopotamus, with fierce tusks like a boar and two long, curved horns it can swivel to attack from any direction.

Jadis 2022: Ascent

Though Jadis is called The White Witch, her evil is strong enough that black may be a more likely color than white for her costume. In the conceptual sketch above her gown is formfitting at the bust, but otherwise prim, and black. Her crown is gold, her cape and face white, her hair and lips dark red.

Again she wears a black gown and white fur cape. Her hair is white, but her eyebrows, eyelashes, lips and choker are dark, like those of a White Goth. Is it me or does she resemble Sarah Jessica Parker?

Here she has a tight, uncomfortable-looking Elizabethean collar as well as a black dress, bringing to mind the Tudor age.

I am not sure if this painting was intended as Jadis, but if so, she’s a Bohemian Jadis, with long black hair or veil, and a chilly demeanor as she sits on a throne of ice.

Artwork by Jenna Mueller

Four different designs for Jadis, each in a different costume with faces that differ slightly. I don’t what grade the student got for her project but I hope it was an A+. Click on the picture to see the larger version.

But the traditional “Snow Queen” look is nice too, like this regal getup which has a Russian flavor.

A variation on movie Jadis.

This artist has adhered closely to Pauline Baynes’ style, but gives Jadis a huge sword and a cloak of Arctic cats, I guess? Plus some really elaborate footgear. It’s different, and looks good.

A long poster showing Jadis’s gown showing the events of the story as pictures on Jadis’s gown, in chilly blues and grays plus black and white.

A Year and a Day [Narnia Fanfic]

(While I was writing about Queen Swanwhite a month ago I wondered just what it would mean to leave a reflection of yourself in whatever pool of water you looked into, a reflection that remained for a year after you were gone. The Queen might not care, or those who carried her legend. But for the common folk of Narnia it was a different story.)

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A Year and a Day

 

It was said that when Queen Swanwhite looked into any forest pool the reflection of her face shone out of the water like a star by night for a year and a day afterwards.

 —  from Tales of Elder Narnia, by Purseplum the Marshwiggle

 

After a third round of leisurely lovemaking Drutessa rose from the bower of moss and leaves that cushioned her and her partner from the hard forest floor.

“I’m off to wash up a bit,” she said with a quick kiss on Phoedus’s left horn.

The faun grinned at her cheekily. “Don’t be long, love.”

Drutessa wrapped her filmy garment around her and, soft-footed but sure, padded through the trees to little pool they had nested by.

Phoedus had been the picture of gallantry earlier, but now he was free to grin from pointed ear to pointed ear. Drutessa was quite a prize. It had taken weeks of honeyed persuasion, hard wooing, and countless gifts before she’d been softened up enough to lay with him.  Such was the life of a faun, and the females of their species, the phaunae. Oh, the phaunae looked nothing like him, of course, with his goat legs and hooves. Phaunae were like the nymphs, comely, slim and graceful. But like the fauns they had pointed ears, and on their foreheads small rudimentary horns. And on their shapely backsides, the stub of a small tail.

A loud scream split the air. Phoedus leapt up, erotic daydreams forgotten, and rushed off to find Drutessa.

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Announcement: Narnia Fanfic

Starting this week I’ll be publishing some Narnia fanfic on this site. I’ve had too much fun reading it not to join in!

The Lady of the Green Kirtle:
Sisters in Green

Previous parts of this series can be read here (Part I) , here (Part II) 
and here (Part III)

Absinthe, the Green Fairy, by Nadine Dennis

Now that I’ve established The Lady of the Green Kirtle has Green Fairy lineage, I thought it would be fun to look at some of her cousins, the Green Fairies interpreted by contemporary artists.

These images range from sinisterly playful to semi-pornographic, fueled by the popular depiction of absinthe-the-drink from the 1880s on. These Green Fairies are not as calculating and cultured as The Lady of the Green Kirtle, but are just as seductive and deadly. The artist can portray them with an arch sense of humor, or a sloppy inebriated one.

The above image surrounds the winged fairy with absinthe leaves, and she holds a glass of the stuff.  Her dress is falling off her shoulders, perhaps with drunkeness.

Lair of the Absinthe Fairy, by Laurie Lee Brom

This female is more tough broad than fairy as she pours a poisonous glowing drink and stares straight at the viewer. Like Lewis’ witch, she is blonde.

The Absinthe Fairy, by Laurie Lee Brom

A more gleeful fairy by the same artist in the same pose, plump-faced like the Art Nouveau poster models. She’s got the hooded eyes of a Silent Movie siren.

This fleshy cartoonish fairy is slowly dissolving herself in the absinthe drink to bewitch someone.

Absinthe Fairy by Lucas Graciano

This Green Fairy as Lady of Death, going by all the skulls. She’s living in a forest of dead trees.

Another inebriated fairy, joyfully slobbering up the water sweetened by the sugar cube.  Her wings are sprigs of artemisia leaves.

Art by Olivier Ledroit

This kinky creature is Olivier Ledroit’s work. I’ve actually stayed away from most of the “traditional” winged fairy girl depictions, because they tend to look more like Harley Quinnesque bad girl tartlets. But this one is interesting, if only for her utter lack of passion and leather bondage getup.

Artwork by Jehan Choo

A very pickled fairy actually living in the bottle!

Illustration by Jessica Oyhenart

This Green Fairy is a Belle Epoque vamp rising from the bottle’s fumes.

And now, what all that absinthe does to you…

Worldbuilding Wednesday 7/20/22: Narnian Female Names (Narnia XXXVII)

I don’t know what the heck  these Pre-Raphaelite women are doing, but they’re wearing the kind of flowing, early Medieval costumes Pauline Baynes loved to depict in her drawings of Narnia.

One of the weird things about the Narnia world (not just Narnia the country) is that very few Narnian-born human women are mentioned by name.  Of them, the nation of Calormen has three: Aravis, Lasaraleen, and Zardeenah. (Perhaps Zardeenah doesn’t count, because she is a goddess.) The males of Calormen are mentioned a lot more — perhaps two dozen names are thrown around, admittedly much of them battle casualties from the Hermit’s scrying pool in The Horse and His Boy.

From all the other Narnian countries, there’s only a handful: Queen Swanwhite and Lady Liln, who are mentioned in passing as figures of legend; Queen Prunaprismia, who may not count because she’s a Telmarine; and Gwendoline, a town girl mentioned in Prince Caspian, who is also a Telmarine, or of Telmarine descent. Unlike the three Calormene names, the “European” women’s names are all over the place. (Note: I did conjecture about Prunaprismia and other Telmarine women’s names here.)

In fact, Lewis left out the names of even the important women characters of the books. Ramandu’s daughter, The Lady of the Green Kirtle, and Caspian’s deceased mother and old nurse don’t get names; neither did Cor and Corin’s deceased mother, or the squinty, freckled potential bride of Caspian mentioned in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, who he met in a Galman tourney. The White Witch barely got hers: her name is mentioned on a document, but not spoken. Perhaps the lack of female names is a Medieval European trope, one old storytellers were fond of using. But we don’t know for sure.

If Lewis had chosen to give endemic names to female Narnians, we need look no further than the British Victorian Age, the era of his birth and childhood, when odd-sounding names for baby girls were as much in vogue as they are today. There were plenty of Margarets and Catherines, of course, but also Alcedies, Dulcibelles, and Quillianas. These distinctive names have yet to come back into style and were likely made up by the parents. I’d think they’d work well for Narnia. From these, I randomgenned a few more.

 

Narnian Names for Human Females

Abbavenna

Abolene

Adeliza

Adnah

Alcedie

Algitha

Allida

Almatina

Alwina

Amira

Anesta

Aquilisa

Athelinda

Avonnia

Azena

Azubah

Balmena

Barbarina

Belina

Beshuma

Bethalina

Blossie

Casiphia

Celestina

Charmah

Christabella

Clelia

Clytie

Crissada

Darlotte

Damaris

Delina

 Dinorah

Dorabeth

Dulcibelle

Edaine

Edelga

Edenelle

Ederica

Esterlie

Ezela

Favante

Favella

Favoretta

Felette

Flamicia

Glenova

Glenthora

Hethecca

Ianthe

Imantha

Ismena

Itherica

Jerusha

Keturah

Lauretta

Leillette

Lendella

Lenidcy

Liena

Lissiana

Lyra

Maida

Maskely

 Mathulda

Melita

Merelina

Mietje

Morlena

Nephelitta

Ozelah

Pathenia

Pedora

Pembula

Querina

Quillianna

Regencia

Remincy

Salva

Sanamirah

Savilla

Tamar

Telidwen

Theolinda

Thirza

Thyra

Trianda

Trintoffy

Tryphena

Ubertha

Venua

Vesina

Wrenny

Zelaide

Zelmira

Zerlina