Thank you! That means so much to me! I'm actually almost done with the next chapter, but it'll get released on the 1st! I'm so, so excited!
Luken is... well meaning but a little
overenthusiastic I feel. That'll be addressed pretty soon. He and Robert DID have a very long talk regarding spirits and what not, but a lot of it was rehashing everything we (as the audience) already knows - like what he saw when he was younger, his experiences next to the spirit spring, etc. Hilariously, Prof Luken TALKS a lot, but has yet to say something of SUPER importance, because he's mostly trying to absorb what Robert has to say.
Very astute! You're not wrong that it
is odd. It's more a matter of humbleness I suppose; in Song of the Nightingale, I dabble a bit and show
what the power looks like (
like so). You end up with SO much information about a person - including their most likely match... only to get that you have to give up being able to see your own (as it skews your own vision as a side-effect of the magic). Carule encourages not pursuing someone while doing this because people are easily persuaded by love - easily distracted. Absolutely none of his positions that require this are permanent, in fact he and Eravaeral are the only gods (goddess for Era) that have a "fluid" priest/priestess state. For all other gods - once you're in,
you're in for life, forever tied to the will of that god. Carule is the God of Love and Marriage, and Eravaeral is the Goddess of Lust and Sexuality. They work hand-in-hand. I don't get to dabble much in this portion of the lore, so I have fun when I get to show it off little by little through people like Chrys or chapter 5 of Song of the Nightingale. Also, NEVER feel bad about not remembering a god/goddess lol; I have 15 of them, technically, and they're not always the same (as gods/goddesses
can die and be replaced, though it's not very common).
--An example of this is in Willow it's clearly noted that the God of Knowledge is named Lord Aadish, however if you read Faction of the Lost Ones (which takes place some... 60ish years later) you'll be introduced to the
Goddess of Knowledge Irena (implying that something will happen between Willow and Factions, which I'm actually working up to as I move up the timeline). That's actually kind of why it takes me so long to update sometimes, as I have to spend a lot of time factoring in where the timelines are and how they'll meet. Willow starts in 802 of the Era of Prophecies with Robert but will carry on WAY into the next Era, while Song of the Nightingale starts at year 857 of the Era of Prophecies; The Reapers Legacy and Factions start in the late 860s early 870s - I haven't set those precisely in stone. I have but I haven't - I still need to wiggle-worm those around until they fit, and I recently had to adjust some of the years in Willow to account for some new ideas that I wanted to pursue...
Funny you should mention the Vestal Virgins, as that's precisely the setup Eravaeral (goddess of lust) has set up. It was something I drew inspiration from. The society is egalitarian only if you're a human mortal - not at all if you're of Nymphen blood (and later, if you're a spirit) or if you're a slave/of slave blood. That's not something I've had the pleasure of digging into, but will end up being a major focus of Willow as this story progresses. I'm both embarrassed and proud to say this story is just barely in the prologue still; I was really only supposed to lightly dabble with Robert's past to demonstrate who he is, but then I got stuck and fell in love. Thankfully it's all been important information, but if I had to put a number on it for this plot I'd say I've made it about 1/20th of the way through everything I want to. I'm not supposed to pick favorites when it comes to stories, but Willow is definitely my favorite because
everything in it is circular. Everything mentioned comes back around in one way or another into future plots and concepts which is absolutely the best feeling ever as a writer.
Yes precisely! I care less about having a "grand reveal" and more about the journey it takes to get from point A to point B. Granted, that doesn't mean I have NO grand reveals to give, just that there are some things I can keep hush-hush and some things that I just
can't due to having other stories later in the timeline in a fluid world. It kind of sucks sometimes not being able to get a nice solid WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED moment, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. One of them will be incoming in the next few chapters... which makes me just itch to write and write and write!
Sam had me absolutely dying as I wrote it; just like I mentioned that I wasn't supposed to get "stuck" here... he's definitely one of the reasons, and I'm not mad. He's made himself a nice important spot because of it. I'm so happy for that change to my very original ideas and plot.
Haha I've already made this EXTRA long and but I can't stop now! Vampires! I've spent so much time researching different vampirisms and lores to try and identify how I wanted my vampire lore to be. My vampire lore is my most fleshed out - well, minus the magic lore and spirits (I've got those down to the literal science). Vampires and ALL MAGIC are based on a slight mutation in the DNA of each cell in a person's body. It's like having an extra strand of it that details the magical portion of it. Point is, it's finicky, BUT having magic there in any sense keeps the cells from incorrectly reproducing (or mutating) which causes aging. Magic merely slows down the process, but Vampirism stops it altogether. There are several ways in Atalan to achieve immortality, but all of them involve magic. Vampires have the option of ghouling a mortal (giving the mortal THEIR blood) which will tie them to the lifespan of the Vampire.
Setting that aside for a brief moment, addressing Vampirism as a whole: Vampires with the purest strain of Vampirism actually have no hunger whatsoever. There is no urges for blood, no
necessity behind it at all. The only reason to drink/consume blood is because it acts as a sort of "mana" (if you're familiar with video games/RPGs) that fuels their magic use (so if they want to use any abilities or powers whatsoever, they NEED to consume blood for that). The purer the strain of vampirism is, the fewer urges. As the strains get passed along though, there are chances of slight mutation, which has caused the vampirism to morph into something
needy that requires blood for sustenance. I don't really have a character right now who demonstrates this well, because all of the Vampires that I've introduced (or WILL introduce) have a fairly pure strain of vampirism. Stefan's is actually the weakest strain introduced in all of my stories so far to a named character, but he only experiences slight urges and can usually ignore them entirely. The purpose of having a Blood-Link and that being a biological
need (as Steffy puts it) is because in order for vampires of old to survive (as they were once hunted as monsters) they needed a way to use their powers to conceal themselves - aka they needed a consistent blood source who wouldn't turn on them/turn them in. That created this symbiotic relationship between a vampire and their thrall - the vampire is inclined to treat the thrall carefully and protect them at all costs - as it's their survival source, and the thrall is enamored with the Vampire and wishes to protect THEM at all costs too.
However, as you can see by my word choice/change, Stefan was mixing up a Thrall with a Blood-Link; which is where Chrys was right. Blood-Links are actually remnants of human's spirit ancestry. Spirits have no steady form (as Adam explained) they change frequently, but their personalities are fairly constant. Humans exchanged their unsteady form for a steady form, but instead have a changing personality which makes finding that "perfect other half" very difficult. Vampires and Werewolves have that specific strain of DNA that actually ties them closer to their spirit roots than any other type of magic. Vampires a lot more so than werewolves (as the "pack mentality" tends to overtake the "sole mentality" -- vampires are VERY solitary, they do not like being in the presence of other vampires, generally, so they can be more selfish that way). Anyways, because of this tie to the core of the world and their spirit roots, it pulls them to find that specific other person that "completes" them. The purer the strain of vampirism/werewolfism, the stronger the pull. Stefan feels compelled to seek out this woman not because he needs her for sustenance, but because he needs her for
emotional completion. Drinking from her won't be like having a wonder-drug (though that'd be fucking hilarious if it was), but rather it'll create a mental bridge between them that'll allow them to read each other's thoughts/feelings/dreams/hopes/etc. Aka, they'll be a lot more akin to Adam/Myra or Adriel/Theran. Unfortunately my boys aren't very well versed in this, so they can only take guesses, and I merely write down what their guesses are.
(heavy breathing) GOODNESS gracious I think I got carried away