Glowing Tats, Black Spots and Other Marks of Magic

“When you’re touched by magic, nothing’s ever quite the same again. What really makes me sad is all those people who never have the chance to know that touch . . . “ ― Charles de Lint

As readers of fantasy, we know magic. Even if only in our mind’s eye, we’ve cast a million spells (or a hundred million) and whether we plumb the depths of each new tome in search of the reasons a man may bend metal with his will, or whether we simply revel in the audacity of worlds in which graffiti comes to life, or a trumpet solo a can rebuff a hurricane, none can say that “magic” has not left its mark on us.

So perhaps it is only natural that we would seek the same for the characters in our fiction, or perhaps it is because we’ve seen our heroes changed by magic that we are changed by it too. Whatever the case, this beloved trope finds our hearts in many forms, a few of which I thought it would be fun to discuss this #WyrdAndWonder for the prompt: Marks of Magic.

First up . . .

The Power Tattoo

We’ve all seen this in some form or other. The Power Tattoo page of TV Tropes shows Avatar: The Last Airbender as the header image, and I can’t deny that it is a striking and clear use of the trope. I’ve only seen a few episodes so this usage did not immediately jump to mind, but I think it will be a great example for pretty much everyone else alive.

For me, I had to dig back into my childhood, and the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon) by Christopher Paolini to find a decent example. For those of us also blowing the dust off those old memories (and hopefully a couple hardcovers), the Dragon Riders were marked with the gedway ignasia, a silver mark on their palm, which signified them as magic users. I’m sure there are a thousand other examples from books and literature but most of my ready memories of this trope came from video games (I think it’s something that works a little better, and is therefore more common, in visual mediums).

For instance, in Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, Abe gets a pair of hand tattoos that allow him to transform into an avatar of Shrykull, the god of lightning. In the sequel Abe’s Exoddus, he gets a chest tattoo that lets him heal the sick. I played these games for HOURS as a kid, and despite all of that, did not progress very far through the game. I have since repurchased the remastered editions as an adult, and am only fairing slightly better. Perhaps if I manage to finish, I can post a review.

A second video game, and prominent tattoo, which jumped to mind was the large red tattoo — which I’m sure many people could recognize the character just based on that alone — which Kratos bears in the God of War series.

Fun fact, this awesome tat is not actually an example of the trope as I thought at first. He does use magic but his power is not related to the acquisition of the tattoo. His tattoos are actually meant to honor his brother Deimos who had a similar pattern of birthmarks which caused him to be mistaken for the ‘marked warrior’ which was prophesized to slay the gods of Olympus.

This works out pretty bad for Deimos and essentially just encourages the prophecy’s completion as Deimos’s kidnapping, and torture, in the land of the dead, just adds to the MANY reasons Kratos’s default setting is kill-all-gods (take a look at what that setting might look like in Ancient Egypt).

With that first one out of the way, our second trope is . . .

The Mark of the Supernatural

This mark of magic can be seen in many fantasies and is generally written as some physical characteristic which distinguishes the character as supernatural or magical.

The range of features that can be endowed with paranormal significance is as broad as the author’s imagination, but some easily visible features have become quite common.

Hair color, for instance, is a distinguishing characteristic for Geralt, the main character from The Witcher. His lovely locks are prematurely white, a result of his supernatural mutations, and the horrific procedures he had to endure to acquire them.

Eye-color seems to be even more common with notable use in Brandon Sanderson’s epic Stormlight Archive (aka the “lighteyes”).

Second, consuming ‘spice’ on Arrakis turns the the whites of people’s eyes blue and their irises an even deeper blue. Consuming the spice has all sorts of supernatural and essentially magical implications in Dune.

Another interesting take on this comes in Kushiel’s Dart. The main character, Phedre, has a mote in her eye which marks her as blessed by Kushiel. She is an ‘anguissette’, someone who endures pain for sexual pleasure. It is essentially her superpower within the first book.

Finally, we could point to Geralt again as one of his mutations is cat-like eyes which allow him to see better than normal people. Surely a boon when hunting monsters that prey on said normal people.

But none of this is quite so dramatic as . . .

The Worsening Curse Mark

This is generally some kind of mark on a character that ends up being significant to the plot because of some change in said plot, or something else unusual happening. Disappearance of the mark or change in its usual behavior counts though a wound healing would not. A wound that won’t heal, festers, or gets infected can count as long as there is some plot or magical reason for this.

Harry’s scar in the Harry Potter series is a great example. The scar was inflicted by an evil curse and it hurts Harry any time Voldermort is near.

In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Davy Jones marks Jack Sparrow with a large cursed boil (“black spot”) which marks him as hunted by the Kraken. This is a throwback to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island in which a “black spot”, burned into one side of a card or piece of paper, was handed to another pirate as a verdict of guilt (the unburned side I’m assuming meant innocence).

This device was also used in the 1930 novel Swallows and Amazons (by Arthur Ransome), given to the captain James Turner, homage to whom I believe is split between two main character names in Pirates: James Norrington and Will Turner.

What came to mind for me, perhaps has more to do with ‘worsening curse’ and maybe less to do with a physical mark, but my mind went immediately to Matrim “Mat” Cauthon from the Wheel of Time series. Across the first two novels he acquires and then loses a cursed dagger with a ruby on the hilt. During his possession of the dagger, some magical connection is formed, and the longer he is away from it, the worse his health declines.

So we’re definitely seeing the ‘worsening curse’ part of the trope but so far as I know, no physical mark was left on him aside from the worsening sickness. When (spoiler) the connection is finally broken, I do not believe he has any physical marks to signify his ordeal, however, I feel that he is psychologically changed by the experience. While in possession of the dagger, he does not act like himself, and once he is free of the curse, he is certainly not the same Mat who left Two Rivers. Therefore I’m going to argue that he has indeed been “marked” by magic, it’s just that those signs are more psychological than physical.

(I suppose there is a parallel here between Mat’s experience with the dagger, and Smeagol’s affair with the One Ring in LOTR. However, this post is already getting long enough lol.)

So . . . ?

Honestly, I’m not sure really. Many readers (and writers) are keen on the idea that magic has a ‘cost’, but I think reader’s enjoyment of magic is broader than that. While the Worsening Curse certainly has a cost, the Power Tattoo, and Mark of the Supernatural often have neutral costs, or as in the case of the Light Eyes in Stormlight, a benefit to being ‘marked’ by magic (Light Eyes enjoy higher social status in Rosharan society).

Perhaps it is only a change that is necessary.

Whatever the effect of these marks of magic on our heroes, I think it is safe to say that it is we who are truly marked by the amazing magic we read in our books, watch in movies or TV, or play in video games.

As fantasy readers we have the privilege of experiencing this magic, and to echo Charles de Lint, the only cost is on “…those people who never have the chance to know [magic’s] touch…”

What are y’all’s thoughts? Which ‘Marks of Magic’ are your favorite? Which should I have included in my post? Please leave your answers in the comments!

See you next time and happy #WyrdAndWonder!

#WyrdAndWonder 2023: Payback’s a Witch(y cover)

I’ve only missed one week (last week) yet somehow I feel like it’s been forever since I last had time to sit down and blog. Already 19 days have gone by in May, and while I’ve been able to tweet here and there, I’ve managed basically nothing in terms of posts for #WyrdAndWonder2023. In general, #WyrdAndWonder is one of my favorite times of year for blogging (please also check out my posts for 2022, and 2021), so I’ll admit to feeling pretty out of sorts the last 19 days.

I have excuses of course (travel . . . work . . . traveling for work), but mainly it just comes down to the fact that May is always a very busy month for me, and this May had been particularly so.

Without dwelling too much on that, let’s get to the good stuff . . . My first #WyrdAndWonder post!

If you’re completely confused as to what #WyrdAndWonder is, There’s Always Room for One More usually does a pretty good explanation (so definitely read that), but I’ll just describe it as a celebration of all things Fantasy. Generally, that gets related to books, but I’m sure any medium of fantasy is appropriate if you’re excited enough to talk about it.

There are also some prompts cooked up by the team so that each day of the month we’re (again generally) talking about the same thing, even if it’s different aspects or iterations of it. I usually find out about a couple new things each day and weep (tears of both joy and sadness) as my TBR explodes.

However, today my TBR is actually one book smaller. I’m not sure how Payback’s a Witch got added to said pile in the first place as Romance is not typically what I reach for first, but however it snuck in there, I’m happy that it did.

And because today’s prompt is “Witchy Covers” it’s a little extra relevant.

How Was It?

Good! Very good! I’m struggling a bit for a perfect comparison, but to me, it had the feel of SYFY Channel’s The Magicians (which are based off Lev Grossman’s novels by the same title which I have not yet read), which was probably my favorite show during its run (2015-2020; bring it back!!).

Within Harper’s tale, you’ll find:

• Lots of pop culture references
• Everyone is hot
• Cozy does not necessarily mean low stakes

And honestly, a whole lot more, but somewhere along the line I was conditioned to write lists in threes.

Of course I enjoyed all of that, and if you like those things you will too. If you’re here for the steam, there’s plenty. I eventually quit taking this one to work because I didn’t want to keep worrying about what face I was making while reading in the lunch room.

Perhaps slightly more unique to my interests and tastes, one of the four major witch families is said to descend from Slavic folk legend: Baba Yaga. The book did not have as many allusions as say the Shadow and Bone series, The Witcher, or the Winternight trilogy, but it was still fun to note the influences and consider them as I read.

From what I could tell, the Avramovs are just ‘slavic’, hailing from no particular slavic country that I could distinguish. Indeed the family name, Avramov, is apparently a Bulgarian and Serbian name. Talia mentions Strigoi several times which appears to be a Romanian creature.

She toasts “Nazdravye!” to Emmy back in the guest cottage which I thought might have been a weird transliteration (or mispelling) of За Здоровье! a Russian toast (related: this consistent Hollywood mix up of На Здоровье!) but it might actually be Macedonian. And then finally, Talia greets her “sestra” (sister) with “Privyet” which I think is uniquely Russian.

I don’t think all of this confusion is somehow a mistake or bad writing. Talia is often teased by the other characters for even attempting such callbacks to her heritage because the Avramov family has lived in the US for so long as to render any connections to the past meaningless. However, the whole family persist in the delusion, and Talia, for all her swagger and confidence, seems to just want to belong with them.

Without going into spoilers, place (as in geography) and sense of belonging have huge thematic weight within the novel which — for a book that feels in many ways like it was written through the hyper-reality of an instagram filter — was refreshingly true to life.

Give it a read?

Yes! I’d give this one my recomendation. Come for some steam, spend entirely too much time googling slavic phrases, and then let the existential motifs hit . . .

That’s all I have for this time. Have any of y’all read this yet? How did it make you feel? Would you read it in the lunch room? Let me know in the comments!

See you next time!

What Gods And Goddesses I’d Want to See in a God of War Game Set in Ancient Egypt!

It’s May, and while I should be doing #WyrdAndWonder things on the blog, I stumbled across an article on Gamer Rant doing a sort of “fancast” of gods and historical figures that it would be great to see in a new God of War game set in Ancient Egypt (I did something similar before Marvel/Disney’s Moon Knight came out with 9 Things We Want to See in Marvel’s Moon Knight)

And because I now talk about videogames on this blog, I figured it’d be worth posting some thoughts.

Game Rant’s 6 figures of Egyptian Mythology That Would Be Great For A God of War Game gives us a great place to start, laying out a pretty awesome list including: Ammit, Isis, Set, Sobek, Apophis, and Imhotep.

I would be thrilled to see Kratos face off (or ally with) any of those gods and goddesses, and I love the reasoning the author gave for why such appearances might make sense. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if the developers might actually stay away from these big names considering many already have such memorable depictions associated with them.

As the article mentions, Sobek and Apophis have already made appearances in another extraordinary videogame, Assassin’s Creed Origins (one of my favorites!), and Isis is renown from games like Age of Mythology (another fav!) and Smite.

Of course Imhotep will forever be immortalized in the 1999 film, The Mummy (a third fav!), and Ammit has recently come into the spotlight because of Marvel and Disney+’s outstanding show, Moon Knight.

Side note: If you’re at all curious to see how games like AC: Origins and Age of Mythology have influenced my own writing please check out my ‘influences’ posts, specifically From the Primordial Ooze.

The following list of gods and goddesses are not particularly obscure by any means, however, I don’t have any particularly strong associations with them in other media, so I thought I’d list em and see what people think.

Quick Note on the Setting

As the header image shows, GoW would look amazing just wandering around Egypt, with pyramids in the background, or even getting to explore and solve puzzles within the tombs (ala AC: Origins), however, just as we’ve explored the Greek underworld in the original GoW games, and the realms of Norse mythology which weren’t earth, I think it makes sense that much, or even most of a story set in Egypt would take place journeying through the Duat.

This Egyptian underworld was the path Egyptian souls would travel from their bodies on earth to the Weighing of the Heart, a trial which would decide whether they could pass into the heavenly paradise known as the Field of Reeds (or the Fields of Aaru), or be cursed to walk the earth as a spirit. This journey contained thousands of trials and horrible monsters, thirteen gates and their guardians, and a lake of fire.

Just imagine all the fun that would be for Kratos . . .

Anyway, here’s my list!

Horus –

Horus is a falcon headed god of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. He often has the epithet “the Avenger” attached to his name, but their are many others which can be used to describe this deity. Probably because he is one of the most important gods within the pantheon.

Perhaps the most famous myth about Horus, is how he slew is uncle Set, after the chaotic god murdered Horus’ father Osiris (the Game Rant article touches briefly on this when they spoke about Isis).

Something that I don’t see often shown in stories involving Horus (probably because it’s confusing as hell), is epithets which denote his age. Horus is known dually as Horus the Younger, a child with a single lock of hair and a finger in his mouth, and Horus the Elder, an adult form of the god who is the son of other Egyptian gods Nut and Geb (in most stories Isis and Osiris are Horus’ parents).

I think it might be fun to play with the concept of two Horuses, one the younger and one the elder. A time travel element could be cool with Kratos training the young Horus to fight Set at the direction of Horus the Elder who came back in time to set Kratos along the path.

There is already a baked in McGuffin with the Eye of Horus.

My only qualm with this whole Isis, Osiris, Horus vs Set drama, is that it may be bit played out. Also, many might still associate the character of Horus with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who played the character in Gods of Egypt.

There aren’t many who enjoyed Gods of Egypt.

Nephthys –

If the Horus/Osiris/Isis/Set drama does happen, it would be great to see Set’s wife Nephthys take a more prominent roll. I always feel like she always gets pushed aside, even in the literal myth.

Anubis –

Anubis is just the greatest. I never get tired of seeing this god appear in fiction, no matter how many times I see him (also check out my review of Death Dogs). One of this god’s primary rolls is to help use the scales of Ma’at at the Weighing of the Heart and guide the deceased to the Duat.

Since he’s kinda a grim reaper type of fellow, it would be interesting to see Kratos on his death bed, expecting a Greek or Norse god to take him to his final fate, but instead it is Anubis who calls him into Egypt.

He’s often cited as the son of Nephthys and Set, so he would make a good player in the family drama mentioned above.

Ma’at –

A goddess and the literal concept of justice / truth. It seems like most things in ancient Egyptian society stemmed from attempting to keep this in balance with Isfet, the concept of chaos and disorder. Setting Ma’at as an antagonist would be a twist but in line with how Kratos tries to defy Fate.

Ra –

If Kratos is to go up against Apophis, it only makes sense that Ra would be at his side. Like Horus, Ra has a falcon’s head and is associated with the sun. Specifically, Ra rides the Atet Boat across the sky during the day, and sails the rivers of the Duat at night, waging war against the great serpent Apep (also called Apophis). If Kratos is to adventure through the Egyptian underworld, I don’t see how he would not run into this all powerful god.

Thoth –

Thoth is an Ibis headed god of the moon, but also wisdom. As many fans have already noted, there are definitely parallels here with the norse god Mimir from previous games.

Personally I’d like to see the two compete for Kratos’ ear, and try to prove to him that they are the smarter god of wisdom. Could be good for a few laughs.

Sekhmet –

I think Sekhmet may be the closest we come to a God of War in the Egyptian pantheon. She is a lion headed goddess (also present in AC: Origins, but not really as big a player as Sobek) primarily known for her savagery and blood drinking. There is a myth in which Ra pacifies her by dying beer red. She gets so drunk thinking the beer is blood that she cannot continue on her killing spree.

In many cults she has a connection with the goddess Bastet, another feline goddess, and the daughter of Ra.

Some believed Sekhmet and Bastet to be two aspects of a single god, while others worshipped the goddesses as sisters. I think there could be some potential for trickery and betrayal if such a character was added.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, seven gods it would be awesome to see in the next GoW game. I think the choices above are still pretty well known, but not so top-of-mind as to be in competition with other games, movies, or shows.

Of course, all of the things unrelated to gods and goddesses mentioned in 9 Things We Want to See in Marvel’s Moon Knight, would be great to see in a new GoW game as well. There is such a DEEP well of history and mythology to pull from that it might seem a bit overwhelming, but I know the folks developing the next GoW title will take their time and use care when crafting the game.

I can’t way to see what they come up with!

How about you all? Any gods, goddesses or monsters the new game should include? Did any of the deities listed above evoke a strong association with another kind of media? What other stories have these figures inhabited that are your favorites?

Please leave your answers in the comments. I LOVE talking about this stuff!

Straightforward and Fun: Assassin’s Creed The Golden City

Last week, we tried something a little different on the blog with a review of a videogame: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. This week, we’re back between the pages of a book but we’re still within the robes of a Hidden One in Jaleigh Johnson’s Assassin’s Creed The Golden City (happy publication day!).

In this adventure, the saga of England is still a distant (but not to distant) point on the horizon, and we’ve yet to feel the grain of a sea-stallion’s deck beneath our boots. Nor have we felt the hidden blade of betrayal (I hope that’s not too spoilery).

What we do experience, is the sights and sounds surrounding a medieval Hagia Sophia. The hidden crannies of an imperial library and the din of the crowd as chariots race within the hippodrome. The Order of Ancients have designs for Constantinople, and so The Brotherhood has work there too, if only to route out their corruption.

Hytham and Basim, our main protagonist and his superior, will be familiar from AC Valhalla. If there were any other connections, or characters we’ve seen before, I did not notice them. But the focus on these two was intriguing enough.

Of course we’ll see more of Basim later this year in the upcoming game Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, but the wait will be hard given some of the revelations at the end of Valhalla. If you were hoping that The Golden City might reveal some more insight into any of those revelations, or even what will be going on in Mirage (which I think will take place before GC) you might be somewhat disappointed.

I felt Johnson walked a tight line with Basim, ultimately foreshadowing a great deal we already know from Valhalla, but never spoiling anything from that game, or any future games (as far as I can tell). It was honestly quite impressive.

But Basim is not the main character of GC, Hytham is, and as stories go, I felt his adventure to be a lot of fun if somewhat straightforward. Many times within the book Hytham considers the world and his place within it using the phrase “We work in the shadows to serve the light”. Though GC is the first time the phrase is catching my attention, a quick google shows that it seems to be something recurring through many installments of the series.

It is a very catchy mantra, and to me, seems to encapsulate the kind of black and white simplicity which I felt the book had, which the games I’ve played so far have not. In GC there is essentially one dichotomy: Order of Ancients vs Hidden Ones. Two sides; good and evil.

Assassin’s Creed Origins and the subsequent games contain this dichotomy as well — setting up the objective of annihilating the Order’s members — but ultimately there is more nuance in the means and choices by which you act (and whether or not you hunt every member down like a sociopath). For some members, the choice to kill or not to kill is an easy choice. For others . . . not as much. In some instances it can become a somewhat moral dilemma.

(all this discussion has me really wanting a game from the POV of an Order of Ancients member who gets turned by the Brotherhood).

I’m inclined to think GC’s more straightforward approach is just a consequence of medium (telling the story through a book) and perhaps even a feature, not a bug. It allows the reader to focus their attention on other parts of the narrative, of which I felt one part in particular really shined.

Of course that part was Hytham’s relationship with the young heir, Leo, which was actually quite wholesome for a book about the dealings of a brotherhood of assassins. The Golden City is by no means a Cozy Fantasy, but certainly seemed a bit less grim than you might expect from a book with such a dark premise.

My only complaint, which again might just be a consequence of working in such a large series, is that Hytham in GC seemed so much more competent and confident than the Hytham we meet in Valhalla. In that saga, he plays a pretty small part, befitting of an apprentice. In The Golden City he’s kinda a badass which, while very cool to see, did not quite line up for me.

However, I could be convinced that the events of GC are perhaps traumatic enough to temper him. He does a lot of badassary, but also makes a lot of mistakes. His skills as an assassin might be quite high while his experience as an assassin might still be limited. Perhaps the simplistic dichotomy of Order vs Brotherhood I mentioned earlier is merely a reflection of his character which becomes more complex because of the events of The Golden City.

Give This One a Read?

Ultimately, I’d say yes give this one a read. If you don’t have any previous experience with Assassin’s Creed, then the story will still read like a straightforward historical fantasy. However, when we consider its place with the larger AC universe, then I feel like the book offers much more to sort through and enjoy.

That’s all I’ve got for this week. Has anyone read this yet? Please leave me your thoughts in the comments!

Until next time!