When a mysterious curse threatens to transform everyone into shadowy demons, a magical eleven year-old girl must travel to a sunken city ruin—fighting pirates, monsters, and an undead sorcerer along the way—to find a weapon that can save her world.
Finding a Real-World Magical Child
The premise for my main character's magical powers in Ennara and the Fallen Druid is based on the real-world folklore of the caul child. Caul children are born with a mask—a thin membrane covering their face. In birth, the membrane is simply lifted off the face and the child bears no differences from any other.
European folklore held the birth of a caul child as an auspicious event. The child was said to be destined for greatness and could have psychic abilities. The birth was said to ward a village from witches and sorcerers, and protect the upcoming harvest. And the membrane itself was believed to protect against drowning—caul membranes were preserved and crafted into talismans, and sold for high sums to sailors.
Caul Children have been immortalized by many famous authors: the Grimm Brothers, Charles Dickens, Stephen King (the famous 5 year-old son of the main character in The Shining was born with a caul and had precognitive abilities), Dean Koontz, and Orson Scott Card have all written characters who lived under the myths of cauldom.
Take, as an example, this excerpt from Charles Dickens's David Copperfield:
In Ennara and the Fallen Druid, I took the legend of the caul stretched the mythology for Ennara, giving her unprecedented magical ability, lending the membrane’s protection at sea to the girl herself, and giving her limited psychic abilities and a great destiny. Placing her in a world covered by oceans and ordered with strict regulations of magical use brought conflict into her character that lent to a wonderful adventure. Stick around to read more exclusive excerpts from Ennara and the Fallen Druid!Caul Children have been immortalized by many famous authors: the Grimm Brothers, Charles Dickens, Stephen King (the famous 5 year-old son of the main character in The Shining was born with a caul and had precognitive abilities), Dean Koontz, and Orson Scott Card have all written characters who lived under the myths of cauldom.
Take, as an example, this excerpt from Charles Dickens's David Copperfield:
I was born with a caul, which was advertised for sale, in the newspapers, at the low price of fifteen guineas. Whether sea-going people were short of money about that time, or were short of faith and preferred cork jackets, I don't know; all I know is, that there was but one solitary bidding, and that was from an attorney connected with the bill-broking business, who offered two pounds in cash, and the balance in sherry, but declined to be guaranteed from drowning on any higher bargain. Consequently the advertisement was withdrawn at a dead loss ... and ten years afterwards, the caul was put up in a raffle down in our part of the country, to fifty members at half-a-crown a head, the winner to spend five shillings. I was present myself, and I remember to have felt quite uncomfortable and confused, at a part of myself being disposed of in that way. The caul was won, I recollect, by an old lady with a hand-basket.... It is a fact which will be long remembered as remarkable down there, that she was never drowned, but died triumphantly in bed, at ninety-two.
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2 comments:
There are a few fantasy authors I love: Diana Gabaldon, Madeleine L'Engle, H.P. Lovecraft, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, etc.
I occasionally like to escape into a good fantasy, but in the summers I read a lot of light, fluffy, contemporary romances--"beach reads."
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Those are some wonderful authors! I love to read light romance on holiday too. Thanks for stopping by, Catherine!
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