How did I come up with the titles for my first two books? What does asanni mean? Ellida?
I’m glad you asked.
There are three other races of humanoids in my novels: werewolves, Tel-Urughs and wizards.
The ancient homeland of my wizards is Northern Europe, the area that would later be populated by Old Norse-speaking human tribes.
There were two pantheons in Norse mythology: Æsir and Vanir. The male member of Æsir was called ás; the female was asynja, plural asynjur. I stripped my Asyngaer (wizard-kind) of their divine status and slightly changed the terminology: asyr is a male wizard, and asanni is wizardess.
Meet Dr. Astrid Vandermeer-Mohegan, an asanni. She’s pretty, super-smart and a hell of a doctor (she’s a trauma and orthopedic surgeon). A sociable introvert. Deeply human. A tad naive. Headstrong. Brave. Loyal. Passionate about the things she loves. The bravest when she’s scared to death.
A young woman with a divine voice, who dreams to sing the role of the Queen of the Night from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, one of the most difficult and most beautiful soprano arias.
My wizards and wizardesses possess a unique grace and elegance. Astrid is not an exception. Wizards are tall, they have beautiful, luminous eyes. Astrid’s are brilliant blue. (At least in the first book.) Wizards are cool and logical. As Tristan Blake, Astrid’s Tel-Urugh friend, once described them:
“… They’re like a crossover between Tolkien’s Elves and Mr. Spock from Star Trek. Their rational side is prominent. Not that they do not feel, they do, as intensely as we do, they just don’t show it. But Astrid does…”
But Astrid is also a half-bleithast (she-wolf). Werewolves are just on the opposite emotional spectrum from wizards: passionate, sociable, often impulsive, possessive. And prone to jealousy, a sentiment Astrid regards as unnoble.
So how can someone be rational and impulsive, cool and passionate, sociable and extremely private at the same time? Well, as Astrid is going to find out, there are two ways to deal with this impossible mix: you can fight one part of you, keeping it suppressed (she tried but it didn’t work out at all), or you can let your two roaming spirits merge into one incredible entity.
But there is more purpose in Astrid’s heritage than to never let her have a dull moment: as female offspring of a wizardess and a werewolf, she may become a rare, precious and powerful ellida, a living embodiment of the ancient alliance between wizards and werewolves…
But, this is another story.
Before I leave–a happy announcement. I’ve had two more followers. I want to thank them for finding my website and liking it enough to ‘enter the world hidden within our own’.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Diana Damrau sings the Queen of the Night aria, Astrid’s favourite.
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