If you’ve read any of the Stone and String stories or later Wishing Blade books, you know I very much enjoy creating fictional languages. The Cantingen language for word magic is fairly fleshed out with grammatical rules and a good-sized list of words, though it still has a ways to go before being fully functional.
That being said, it isn’t the only language present in the world of The Wishing Blade.
We also hear reference of the the Cirenan language, Ancient Cirenan (mentioned in Magic’s Stealing), the Maijevan language, and the immortals’ languages.
The fun part is that Cirenan is supposed to be kind of like English… a mixture of several different languages. The problem?
I needed to figure out at least a portion of Ancient Cirenan for use in one of the later Stone and String stories.
Since Ancient Cirenan is supposed to be a mix of Cantingen, the immortals’ language, and an as-of-yet-undetermined language (Anethian?), I realized I needed to start delving into creating the other languages of influence… at least the basics.
So, I made notes on the immortals’ languages. So far I’ve got a basic idea of sentence structure, interrogatives, how verbs work, and the phonetics.
There would be too much to cover in one post (though if you want to see my notes on creating the sounds of the language, click here to check out my blog post from 2018), so I wanted to focus on one specific aspect… what the immortals call themselves.
The thing is, the Immortal Realm is fluid… a misty, fog-filled place with different regions inside it that don’t have any concrete position on a map. You could leave the edge of one region, travel through the mist, and arrive at a different region each time, despite traveling the same “direction.”
As a result, there are several different tribes and clans of immortals… beings which often resemble humanoid wolves, giant bears, equines, and other animals, although you also get the occasional griffin, dragon, minotaur… etc. Each group has their own dialect and variant of religion and culture, which results in occasional clashes.
I chose to focus on the primary language of the wolves, the one which has the most influence on Cirena. (Though, admittedly, I’ll sometimes use the same version of the language for the bears, and go with the idea of borrowed phrases or similar development of words).
One of the first things I wanted to figure out is what the immortals call themselves. While a lot of this is still in flux and may change, here’s what I’m currently looking at:
Since the immortals believe themselves to have come from the mist/fog of their realm (the word for “Mist” being “nirrin,” I decided that they would call themselves Mist Children. They live long lives (they don’t typically die unless they are outright killed or if disease takes them), and they have immortal ribbon magic, which is considerably stronger than regular ribbon magic.
The word for child is “cira’ma.” Plural, it becomes “gercira’ma.”
When creating names or special places that have a possessive tendency or description, the two words simply go together, primary noun first, and then the descriptor.
Thus, “Children of Mist” / “Mist Children” becomes:
gercira’ma’nirrin
(I’ll note that the apostrophes simply mean that the vowel sound before it does not merge with the next consonant. Thus, this words sounds something like “gair-cir-ah-ma-near-in.”)
I’ve got a lot more planned for this language, including what they call “created” beings who are still “immortal” but aren’t Children of Mist… but I’ll save that for another day.
There are several types of magic in The Wishing Blade universe (because I like making magic systems). Some are closely related, and others aren’t. Here’s a look at the different types:
Ribbon Magic: One of the most common forms of magic in Cirena (until the Stealing) is ribbon magic. These invisible ribbons float through a person and can be commanded to do various tasks, depending on the type of ribbon. Some mages can see ribbons (Magic’s Sight), and those who can note that different ribbons have different colors.
A non-exhaustive list of some of the known colors of ribbons and what they do:
Pink – Telepathy
Gold – Healing
Yellow – Fire
Lime Green – Telekinesis
Royal Blue – Shapeshifting
Navy – Teleportation
Violet – Portals
Turquoise – Light
Ribbon magic can also be tied to various objects to enchant the object and allow non-mages to use their magic. The most common usage is the light crystal, in which light ribbons are attached to a piece of quartz, or a similar material.
Note: Ribbon magic is mostly seen in the Wishing Blade series and Legends of Cirena series.
Immortal Magic: Closely related to ribbon magic, immortal magic appears as ribbons except that it is much, much stronger. These ribbons tend to be black and silver, though the hue of their primary ability may still show through. Those with immortal magic tend to age slower, if at all, but are still susceptible to being killed by weapon or disease (though they tend to heal faster and be more resilient to diseases).
Note: Immortal magic is mostly seen in the Wishing Blade series and certain Legends of Cirena stories.
String Magic: Everything is made of tiny, invisible strings, which few mages can manipulate. It is possible to indirectly manipulate strings by using word magic, but the ability to see and touch strings directly is limited. Often, even these abilities are restricted, with string mages able to feel/sense strings or see strings, but not both. They might not be able to manipulate them, even with these abilities.
Even the gods and goddesses are limited in terms of how well they can manipulate string magic, so mortals born with this ability tend to be closely watched, feared, or respected.
Note: String magic is primarily seen in the Wishing Blade series, but also in a couple Legends of Cirena stories.
Shadow Magic: A consuming, unstable magic. Shadow magic tends to infect the mortal world, rendering objects and people invisible to those who aren’t shadow. If wounded by a shadow weapon, a mortal will become shadow. Shadows do not like fire or glass-stone (both can kill them), and shadow weapons can also wound them. A non-shadow weapon, while it might hurt temporarily, will quickly heal. Most unstable shadows can’t see color, and feel cold.
That said… what we see of shadow magic in the Wishing Blade universe is primarily unstable… but stable shadow magic acts a bit differently. While still cold when in the mortal realm, stable shadows don’t infect, and being touched by magical ribbons will cause them to temporarily become visible before vanishing again.
Note: Unstable shadow magic plays a huge role in the Wishing Blade series. We’ll get to see stable shadow magic in Legends of Cirena #9: The Dark Forest of Aneth!
Word Magic: Technically, the Cantingen language doubles as word magic. While it’s used for everyday purposes, spells are activated by phrasing things between “Be la” and “la be.” This works independently of other magic types, though it can be used to control and manipulate string magic.
An example of word magic: Be la russéan micasi la be. (“Release my spell.” — This phrase is used to cancel a previously cast spell).
This magic is relatively straightforward, but dangerous because of the necessity of using an exact phrase. Intention plays a role, but only those with extremely strong willpower are able to speak a vague spell and have it do what they intend versus an exact rendering of what they say.
Note: Word magic doesn’t yet exist in the Legends of Cirena era, but we do see it in the Wishing Blade series and in the Stone and String series.
Charlago / Magebane: This isn’t technically magic, but its anti-magic properties mean that it interacts with magic and thus is included as part of the magic systems I try to keep track of. Magebane is a material (technically uranium, radium, or pitchblende, with special properties in the Wishing Blade Universe) which explodes when brought in in direct contact with immortal magic, and may explode depending on the concentration of ribbon magic. Ribbon magic may fray rather than explode, causing it to behave erratically, and sometimes with more… personality… than normal. When brought in contact with shadow magic, magebane loses its destructive tendencies and stabilizes the shadow.
Note: Magebane plays a huge role in later books of the Wishing Blade series, and in certain Legends of Cirena stories.
* * *
Explore the different magic systems in these three series starters…
In the world of The Wishing Blade universe, everyone has two strings of magic. One strand is life. The other strand is death.
Actually, their entire world is made of strings, which is why string mages are particularly powerful, but those two strings are extra important for magic.
Why?
Life magic is the key to a person’s free will and awareness. Without it, they go into “zombie mode” and act solely on instinct. They’re quieter, and don’t tend to resist magical commands well.
This is also the string used to created “inhabited” or cursed objects (and if that object is glass-stone, it changes from clear to a smoky, glossy black, reminiscent of obsidian. This is a huge point in my upcoming Legends of Cirena novel, The Dark Forest of Aneth. People, and especially priests and priestesses, typically try to avoid inhabited objects.)
But why tie life magic into an object?
Well, it allows the wielder, or a specific user, to power enchantments without expending their own willpower. (The catch here is that if you tie someone’s life magic to an item and that person has a strong will, you might be fighting their will instead of simply powering an enchantment).
Life magic is the string provided to mortals by Listhant-Nsasrar (Lishivant), Cirena’s high god.
On the other hand, death magic is the key to a person being able to die, to sleep, and to dream.
Without their string of death magic, they will eventually go mad unless they have a way to magically induce sleep or go into a meditative trance. (And getting mortally wounded without death magic unpleasant, to say the least. But very effective at keeping them technically alive).
This is the string provided by Madiya (Madia), the goddess of the dead.
If you’ve read “Stone and String,” you know that Edyli lost her death magic after infuriating Madia.
But she’s not the only one who has made Madiya furious.
Ralendacin (Shevanlagiy in The Wishing Blade series) lost access to her death magic, but due to a magic-meets-magebane accident that she might have overpowered with some artifacts she shouldn’t have used, when she “dies” she instead wakes up in another world. (Is this at all tied to something to do with her life magic? Read the Wishing Blade series to make some theories of your own on that…)
Unfortunately for those worlds, Shevanlagiy has a tendency to destroy any world that fails to give her what she’s after, and thus she gained the nickname, “The Destroyer of Worlds.”
Her method of destroying worlds tends to unravel the strings that hold them together, or outright obliterate the strings, giving the gods in the Wishing Blade series a very strong incentive to keep her from destroying this one, too.
* * *
A spell to infuriate the goddess of the dead (Stone and String)…or an opponent who has already made that goddess furious (Magic’s Stealing)…
So far, Isaac and I have done all the photography for The Wishing Blade series covers. And when it came to the cover of Magebane, we’d been planning that cover for a while… even bought the candle holder specifically with the intention of shooting this image.
(It wasn’t entirely an excuse to buy more Depression era glass. Not at all… *Cough.*)
And though it’s been a while since we released Magebane, today I want to talk more about the glass on the cover.
True story… when first proofing the cover, I asked for feedback and someone said it seemed a little too radioactive green. Funny thing about that… That green was intentional, and they weren’t actually wrong.
That glow is the result of UV light shining on the glass and fluorescing with the uranium salts coloring the glass. I actually had to lower the amount of light coming from the candleholder while working on it in Photoshop.
Don’t believe me?
Here’s a look at an unedited photo from the photoshoot:
There’s a model lamp at the top providing a general light, but that purple light you see is from the UV light. The glass is Depression Era glass.
Here’s a look at the same glass but without the UV light.
We also shot a set of daisy button glass dishes we considered using (which I believe are actually Victorian era, rather than Depression era, based on their color and pattern), but decided to stick with the candle holder as the main image.
This one just has UV light on it, and no modeling lamp.
It glows hot. Which has been my experience with most yellow uranium glass that I’ve come across.
This, by the way, was with the cheapy UV light we bought at Walmart. Later, we acquired a more powerful UV light (different wavelength, better visible light filter), and these pieces were even brighter.
Now, let’s go into more detail about the real life inspiration for the story’s “magebane” / “charlago.”
The good news is that this glass is not as destructive as it is in the story.
However that “radioactive green” look might be a little more accurate than you first expect. Often known as “Depression Era glass,” these pieces are usually a kind of odd, Vaseline green or “canary yellow” color. You’ve probably seen them hiding in China cabinets or antique stores.
(Pictured Above: Green Depression Era Glass)
Usually, it doesn’t stand out. Some pieces are a little more flowery in their designs, but what makes them so special?
They glow under ultraviolet light (blacklight).
(Well… some do. The frustrating part of hunting for glowing Depression Era glass is that not all green or yellow glass glows. UV flashlights are useful for checking to see which pieces do and don’t. And just because it glows, doesn’t necessarily mean that’s it glowing for the reason I’ll explain in a moment. But when you find the piece that does… there’s the magical “ah-hah!” moment of success.)
See, here’s the thing. For a long time, glassmakers have been using uranium oxide to give glass a rich green or yellow color.
Yes, uranium.
The glass is technically radioactive.
However, according to most internet sources (take these with a grain of salt) and the mineralogist I asked, these glass pieces aren’t so radioactive as to be harmful, at least if you’re not constantly handling them, ingesting pieces of glass (you shouldn’t do that anyway), or messing around with them aside from using them as pretty decoration.
(I would like to add here that I am not an expert in radiation, and I have not actually tested these pieces with a Geiger counter. Please don’t go out and do something that’s going to give you radiation poisoning. There are some antiques that actually do have harmful amounts of radioactive material in them. Stuff with radium, for example. And certain orange or red Fiestaware ceramics from before a certain year. Both are details I play with in Magebane.)
So, that “radioactive green” glow?
Well, it does contain radioactive material.
At the same time, the term is a little misleading because the UV light causes the uranium within the glass to fluoresce, not because it gives off its own creepy light due to nuclear radiation.
You can find a lot of Depression Era glass in antique stores because it was popular during the Depression due to being inexpensive. Though a ban was plaed on putting uranium in the glass during World War II, the process was allowed again later (using depleted uranium), which means that not all uranium glass is Depression glass. Some pieces are replicas and are much more recent.
(In some cases, you can tell when it was made based on the specific markings added by the manufacturer).
However, some pieces are even older than the Depression:
(Pictured above: Canary Yellow Daisy Button Sauce Dish, circa 1880s.Though this is uranium glass, this isn’t actually Depression glass.)
Uranium glass was also made in the late 1800s, meaning that you could find it in the Victorian era. (I was rather thrilled to have ended up finding a piece that, based on its pattern, Isaac and I are pretty sure is from that time frame).
As for the story…
This means that Maijev — that mage-hating place that’s supposed to be pulling from Industrial Revolution and Victorian era tendencies (yes, I know, I’m blending time periods) — could have uranium glass.
And, in the world of The Wishing Blade, ribbon magic and nuclear radiation (even trace amounts) don’t mix well. (Unless you like world-unraveling explosions).
Hence… magebane!
Now that you’ve read about real-life uranium glass, here’s an excerpt from Magebane, a scene in which Siklana gets her first look at charlago glass. 🙂
Unlike real life, though, “Depression era” glass isn’t inexpensive in Cirena… it’s coveted, largely because of its tendencies to ward away mages.
Ruderk examined Siklana soundlessly, then moved to the stove where a tea kettle warmed. “Tea?” He held up the kettle and a green glass cup, paused, and then extracted a different cup. “I’d offer you the finer glassware, but you said you were a mage, didn’t you? I’m not sure how much residual magic might stick around, and I don’t want you getting sick.”
She blinked. “You have charlago glassware? May I see it?”
He shrugged. “Long as you don’t go throwing ribbons at it. One wound a day is plenty enough for me.” He passed over the green cup.
She flinched at the hint of a sting when it touched her skin, and she kept her navy ribbons deep inside herself, where they could not reach the glass. While Ruderk poured them each a cup of tea, she turned the piece in her hands. It was smooth and plain, with a pair of seam lines on either side from the mold, and a simple round base to keep it upright. She sorely wished she had her light crystal with her. Though she could not let the ribbons come into direct contact with the glassware, the light the crystal produced was not magical, and Camir had said kosa light would cause certain forms of charlago to glow.
“It’s beautiful.” She handed back the glassware, and Ruderk exchanged her offering with a steaming, white ceramic cup.
“You should see some of the more meticulous pieces,” he said. “Far more than I can afford, but they have a pretty selection of flowers and patterns to choose from.” He sat himself across the table from her, then reached behind him, snagged a tin, and dropped it onto the table with a clatter. “Biscuits. Help yourself. I made them this morning, so they shouldn’t be too stale.”
I enjoy creating the language of word magic and the Cantingen Islands in my Wishing Blade Universe. So much so that I have a handy Excel sheet with a handful of pages and a semi-clear structure that I’ve realized I really need to get organized (because it’s rather… fun… trying to remember sentence structure when I’m in the middle of revising my current project, The Dark Forest of Aneth, and need to construct a sentence in Cantingen and don’t remember if I’ve decided how that particular grammar is supposed to look.)
One exercise I’ve especially enjoyed, however, is the creation of poetry and songs using the conlang (constructed language). Whether or not I’m actually good at poetry is an entirely different matter, but it’s still fun.
Wind and Words, the second book in the Stone and String series, features two different poems/songs (well, one is intended to be a chant), and one of those songs is called “Dornoram” (“Lonely Child”) and features Madia when she was still a young goddess, before she created mortal-kind.
Though I don’t include the entire song in the story itself (I did include both the Cantingen version and the rough English translation in the back of the book), here’s a look at part of the song:
Dornoram, dornoram Lonely child, lonely child
illselvimorin sut wuget so vinllada’ralencos. wandering in the fog of her father’s new world.
Dornoram, dornoram Lonely child, lonely child
fallamin kidame nevésil vego cochome si kecirme. She has no toys to play with but feathers and strings.
*
Viskar vrethin si walin So she sits and she weaves
drogos osain vieram jévidasil. while she yearns for a playmate that she understands.
Vego éda ralencos dratethia shadi si fashuvasia. But this new world is magic and does not comprehend.
*
Dor so shadi si niitéra Child of magic and creation,
morladiin vieram. she dreams of a playmate,
Morladiin vieram néollased. dreams of a playmate to keep company.
Viskar novanin vincede loch lalli esil, esildo. So she weaves her hair into the form of a doll, little doll.
Morladiin kryl vinvieram llullamia. Dreams of the story her playmate might have.
Vego esil dratethia goréso, But the doll is a puppet,
fallamia kareme, has no thoughts of its own,
si luuh vinmorladsme ketondruv nékryl. and only her dreams give it life.
Essentially, the Cantingen Islanders believe they are Madia’s esilme, her dolls, who return to her from the mortal realm after they die. The rest of the song continues that story, and the idea plays an important role in the Stone and String series.
Do you enjoy seeing fictional languages in stories?
If so, what’s your favorite one? (I’m personally a fan of Tolkien’s Sindarin Elvish, though I never learned more than a few words).
When I set out to write The Wishing Blade series, I originally planned on it being a set of novellas. (Especially because the very first draft I wrote for the entire story arc of the series was 64,000 words).
Magic’ Stealing, the first book I published in the Wishing Blade series, was around 34,000 words, and I figured that future books would be similar.
What I didn’t count on was adding so many more words once I started exploring additional points of view.
Daernan got a chance to shine in The Shadow War, and the main plot really centers around him. Siklana has a major role and character arc in Magebane… and we still get the original views of Toranih and Shevanlagiy.
Not only were viewpoints added, I ended up further developing, and adding, magic systems (who knew word magic and charlago/magebane would play such a critical role in future stories?), and I added words as I reworked scenes to make more sense. Because Isaac–my writing partner and developmental editor–has a point: why try scaling a guarded wall when you could just… I dunno… take the sewers and discover even more fun stuff that affects the plot?
The result was that The Shadow War ended up clocking in around 55,000 words – a short novel, and Magebane clocked in at a whopping 109,000 words – a full-length novel.
(Fun fact… the first version of this post, sent to my newsletter years ago, had Magebane still in progress at 89,000 words.)
The Stone and String stories have also found themselves with longer stories than I originally planned. “Stone and String” was a short story of 8,000 words (surprisingly, it stayed within its expected count). It was meant to be a standalone story. But, of course, I wondered what happened next…
And so Wind and Words came along. While it took a couple starts to actually get it going the direction I wanted, I realized quickly it wasn’t going to be a short story. It ended up being a novella at 23,000 words.
Now the real question is, how long are the next books going to be? (Especially considering that Stone and String 3 should have direct ties to Wishing Blade 4).
While I cringe to look at the release dates of those books and realize I haven’t yet released the next in the series, I’ve found a similar pattern occurring within The Legends of Cirena series as it progresses.
The Wind Mage of Maijev – 15,000 words
The Gryphon and the Mountain Bear – 12,000 words
The Restless Sands of Neel – 25,000 words
The Cursed Halls of Kalecen – 18,000 words
The Scars of Her Past – 21,000 words
The Dragons of the Mist – 21,000 words
The Wind Mage and the Wolf (Cross-over) – 47,000 words
The Trial of Bells and Blood (Cross-over) – 32,000 words
The Dark Forest of Aneth (Cross-over) – WORK-IN-PROGRESS Currently 68,000 words.
In its defense, it not only has the cross-over points of view, it got a third viewpoint and is delving into preplanned lore that wraps up the arc from the first 9 books while setting up the next arc. 🫣
I think a lot of this has to do with adding characters, getting deeper into the lore… stuff like that.
There’s a couple drafts already written for stories that will eventually come after The Dark Forest of Aneth, which you might have seen if you’re signed up for the Wishing Blade Universe newsletter. And then there’s the ongoing story which definitely is building into pre-planned lore and I don’t know if it’s going to be a novella or novel, but the next chapter is eight of sixteen, and it’s already 17,000 words long.
Anyhow, do you have a preferred book length you prefer to read or write?
I have a lot of fun creating the world and culture of the Wishing Blade Universe (Isaac has fun with this, too, as seen by the existence of the Legends of Cirena stories, which started because he went and created a role-playing guide for each of the regions).
One aspect of world-building I especially enjoy is creating the pantheon of gods, goddesses, and deities.
Many of the gods interact directly with mortals, as well as immortals, meaning we see their personalities and how people deal with them (or try to avoid them). Some worship them, some scorn them (especially the dragons of the Immortal Realm) and others are indifferent.
Today, I wanted to take a closer look at Ruetravahn.
As one of the older gods, Ruetravahn has a place in both the Cirenan and Cantingen pantheons, though he features more prominently in the latter. (But even Cirenan characters get stuck dealing with him, as Livena finds when she accidentally gets saddled with a truth spell/curse in The Wind Mage of Maijev).
Per Cirenan tales (as of The Wishing Blade series), when the high god, Listhant-Nsasrar, chose to retire, Ruetravahn convinced him to leave the gift of word magic with mortals so they would not always be at the mercy of the gods, and those without ribbon magic would have a defense against born mages.
As such, Ruetravahn became known as the god of language. Though the Cantingen language had been around for as long as mortals could remember, the ability to use it in spells only came after Ruetravahn’s deal. (Which gets fun when I’m writing anything in the Legends era, because I have to remember they don’t have access to word magic yet).
Even with this gift, Ruetravahn is rarely worshiped in Cirena, possibly because they continued to rely more on ribbon magic than word magic.
As for the Cantingen Islands, the people looked to him as not only the god of language, but also the god of Truth, the world as it really is, and the god of wind, capable of hearing everything that is spoken. Those who worship him consider lying an affront to the gods, and they are careful to choose their words and speak as accurately as possible.
He is the primary god that Edyli, the protagonist of Wind and Words (book two of the Stone and String series), chooses to worship. Her respect for him affects her actions. However, there are those who still see him as a lower god, and who therefore ignore his teachings in favor of completing tasks assigned by the high goddess, Madia.
This scene touches on the conflict between them. 🙂
From Wind and Words
The priestess spun on her heel and surveyed the room. “Do not tell anyone of your intentions, and do not tell them who sent you.”
“Nasillah?” Edyli asked, confused. What temple work could be so secretive? “I cannot lie. That is against Ruetravahn’s will.”
The priestess turned sharply and narrowed her eyes, but even the acolyte pressed his lips into a thin line behind her, his concern evident. “Do you question the will of Madia?” she demanded. “Would you put a lower god above Her Graciousness? You must do as she commands, and that is to bring the monster who stole the child’s string to justice. If you must lie to achieve that task, then it is necessary.”
Anger rushed through Edyli. Ruetravahn might not have been a high god, but his intentions were sacred. Their language rode in his wind, and he was the one who established the treaty with Lishivant, Madia’s father, to bring word magic to mortals.
Whatever happened, Edyli would not lie. She would not betray him.
“I will do what I must,” she said firmly. Even saying that much made her cringe, because the priestess would likely assume that she was agreeing to do as she had been asked. But, as familiar fables said, it was not the truth-sayer’s fault if they spoke Truth, but the listener turned a deaf ear.
While Edyli is determined to serve Ruetravahn faithfully, not everyone is so faithful, as seen above. Of course, those who don’t like magic or gods are even less inclined to like him, as we find with Livena after her magic goes haywire near a blessed scroll in The Wind Mage of Maijev.
(But hey… things like that happen when you accidentally mix a blessed scroll, wind magic, and magebane).
* * *
A spell to infuriate the goddess of the dead…
See more of Edyli’s faith in Ruetravahn in the Stone and String series:
In The Wishing Blade series, there’s a rivalry (often unspoken), between Toranih and her older sister, Siklana. Though they care for each other (in fact, the one magical item Toranih actually likes and frequently uses is a light crystal Siklana made for her), Toranih has always felt like she was in her sister’s shadow… that, no matter what she did, her sister was always better. Better at academia, better at fitting in with social expectations, and better at earning their parents’ approval.
Once, when they were younger, Toranih and Siklana were instructed to create a small tapestry to showcase what they’d learned of weaving and embroidery. Toranih chose to painstakingly render a detailed depiction of a beautiful knife wielded by the legendary noble, Duke Nomca, who was known for his fairness and protection of those in need, including those without magic. (And of the beastmen, which gets shown in a story I’m currently writing). Toranih worked hard on that tapestry, and when her work was complete, the final piece was beautiful… if in its own pragmatic way.
She was quite proud of that work, and sure she had finally managed to achieve something her sister couldn’t. But when they unveiled their tapestries for their parents, Siklana’s detailed work far outclassed anything Toranih dreamed of achieving… and her hopes were dashed.
After that day, she refused to touch the loom except for the most basic of lessons, and she turned to Captain Brekartn for lessons wielding a weapon like Duke Nomca. Though any skill with knives eluded her, she soon found mastery in swords. The more she practiced, the better she became.
As the years passed, Toranih denounced the arts her sister excelled at—including magic—and instead focused her talents on the one thing Siklana showed little interest in—swordsmanship.
If all went well, she would one day become a guardswoman, while her sister would become an academy mage.
But, of course, life doesn’t go as planned.
Magic is stolen.
Siklana is left without the magic she’s become known for, and Toranih’s traditional weapons prove useless against the army of shadows invading the kingdom. Toranih finds herself forced to consider the role her sister once studied for—the role of a mage, while her sister is left wondering where she fits into this strange new world.
And there you have it, a little history between Toranih and Siklana.
Toranih’s reaction to the change of her world is the primary focus of Magic’s Stealing, whereas we see more of Siklana’s reaction in The Shadow War, and Siklana has a major arc in Magebane, the third book in the series.
* * *
A heinous plot is unveiled when magic is stolen…
See how Toranih and Siklana adjust in The Wishing Blade series:
When I first created the world of The Wishing Blade, I had no idea how much I’d change of the story as it progressed. And how much I’d add. Like a whole ‘nother language… (Wheee, language creation!) I had only really considered the main series, and how some of its immortal characters lived throughout time, but not the lives of the characters from The Legends of Cirena series. Not Edyli and her sister in Stone and String, or how varied Litkanston might look.
Even major elements now, like the Cantingen Islands with its word magic, were only briefly mentioned and didn’t play a large role in the story. (Word magic didn’t even exist yet… I don’t think?) Pretty sure the islands weren’t directly mentioned in any of the early drafts, though I did find a later pixel version of the map that had them added in, likely as I expanded the story after the events of The Wishing Blade series.
I think this was “storyideamap26.gif” if that gives you any idea of my process. For reference, the map below is one of the first maps I ever made referencing Cirena, in all its pixel-y goodness.
(I later created the current version in pencil and ink and then polished it in Photoshop)
Notice that several features have changed from this version (storyideamap26) for The Wishing Blade series…
To the most recent version for The Wishing Blade series:
For example, scaling and spacing got readjusted. Neel, while still a city, also became a desert region.
Toranih’s estate doesn’t even get a dot on the map.
The Cantingen Islands (and pretty much every landmark) got redefined.
The Shadow’s Pass and the Pass of Cirena haven’t even been touched in the current series. (Though we might still see a version of these as the series continues).
The Midder Triangle (in my head now as “Midder’s Triangle”) also hasn’t been addressed… though some of the Legends stories that are in development (The Dark Forest of Aneth) are now making references to that goddess, and the concept of the Triangle might eventually make it into Litkanston lore if any of my current headcannon makes it into published cannon.
As the story developed, much of the plot and world-building changed. I guess that’s what happens when my first ideas for this series started 12 years before I published the first book (Magic’s Stealing). I was still in junior high, daydreaming in choir and whenever I had free time.
I set the idea for The Wishing Blade series aside for a while after high school, though I occasionally tried rewriting the concept without much success.
Then, after college, I tried reworking the story again, and finally published Magic’s Stealing in 2015.
It took a while to finally get the world to a place where I was satisfied, but I’m excited to see what changes as the series continues, and what plot points and characters stick around.
For example, Toranih’s sister, Siklana, plays a major role in the current version of the series, which was a big change since she was only seen in a couple scenes in the earlier drafts. She even has a major arc in the third book, Magebane.
I expect plenty more to change, though there are still major scenes that I look forward to finally writing.
* * *
A heinous plot is unveiled when magic is stolen…
See the result of my world-building changes in The Wishing Blade series:
(And yes, there’s at least one, if not two more books planned for the complete arc).
When writing and plotting stories, I like listening to music. (Not so much when editing… then I prefer to see how the story is speaking for itself). Listening to music helps me set the tone of the scene, and it provides inspiration while I’m plotting, whether I’m stuck in a scene, or just want something to help convey the tone. Another benefit I’ve found is that if I listen to music while plotting, then listen to the same song again later when writing, I can reintroduce that feeling, that mood I was in when I originally crafted the story. (For this, playlists are extremely helpful).
For example, I’ve used music constantly while writing and plotting The Wishing Bladeseries. There are certain songs I listen to when I want to be reminded of specific characters and their motives. For example, “The Other Side” by Blackmore’s Night is one I’ve recently found useful when I want to think of Shevanlagiy’s character arc (since there’s a particular character she’s trying to keep from dying again that drives her motives).
As for influences on the world of the story in general, “Shadows” by Gordon Lightfoot, and “Rainbow Connection” from the Muppet Movie (I must admit that I’m not a fan of the original recording; I heard a different version of it when I was taking singing lessons that I became a fan of), both influenced the world. “Shadows” inspired some of the longing of Daernan’s character in The Shadow War, who sees that the world is no longer what it appeared, and it influenced how he sees the war affecting Toranih. “Rainbow Connection” pushed me toward the original idea of the Wishing Blade and more importantly toward the idea of there being some unnatural call (in this case, Magic’s Lure) pulling characters in directions they hadn’t expected (though the call in the story is a bit more sinister than that of the song).
But not all of the songs that influence the story and character arcs are ones I listened to in the early stages of writing. Aside from “The Other Side,” which was a fairly recent discovery, I enjoy several versions of “Luna’s Future” that fans have covered from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic TV series. When I listen to the song, I enjoy picturing it as a dialogue between Madiya and Shevanlagiy (minus the names of the ponies involved, since neither characters would wish to be caught in a musical, or as their equine counterparts…). I also enjoy “Elf Glade” by Meg Davis, which I picture as a dialogue between young Lord Menchtoteale and Shevanlagiy… despite the fact that there are no elves in the story, and that I can’t go into too much detail about why I see this song with those characters without giving potential spoilers.
If you listen to music while plotting, consider the reasons for it. Does it inspire a certain mood for you? Help you picture scenarios between characters you hadn’t pictured before? If you’re stuck on a certain plot point, try putting together a list of songs that have influenced your story, or look for new ones in a similar vein to help inspire you. (Just don’t do like I do and discover that a couple hours have passed with nothing written, but with a host of new songs added to the playlist).
Another joy of plotting while listening to music is misinterpreting lyrics. The first time I heard “The Skye Boat Song,” I heard “Carry the lad that’s born to be king, over the sea to die” rather than “over the sea to Skye.” Though the plot arc that resulted hasn’t appeared in the current version of The Wishing Blade series, it led to a concept that played in the original draft, where a young boy who was stillborn was brought back to life by the high god so that he would later become king. There was no sea involved in the plot, but the character played a large role in the original story. (And who knows… he may later play a role in the world of Cirena, even if he doesn’t appear in The Wishing Blade series). Likewise, “Kingsword” by Heather Dale also makes me think of that particular story arc.
Have you found any songs to have given you story ideas because you didn’t quite hear what was being said? Or because there are variations on the song?
There were certainly other songs that influenced the world of The Wishing Blade and helped shape it into what it is today. Most of the stories I write have been influenced in one way or another by the songs I listen to (and the songs I listen to have been influenced by what I write).
If anyone’s interested, I’m considering looking at how music has influenced the other stories I’ve written and that I’m working on. But, for now, do you listen to music while you plot, and have you found any songs to be helpful in writing a particular story? 🙂
Stephanie Flint - Author and Artist 