7 lore drops I had to inject into The Arcane Prophecy
The Arcane Prophecy has dozens of lore drops that I can talk about for days. But here are seven that were non-negotiable when I started the first draft.
What makes a young adult academy fantasy tick? Two things. One, originality. And two, story elements and lore that have stood the test of time. Familiar, but unique, in other words.
When it came to writing The Arcane Prophecy, I wanted familiarity, which explains the Harry Potter slant, at least to an extent. Then, I sought uniqueness, like burning down traditional genre tropes and building them up to my own liking.
But I already covered that discussion. Now, I want to talk about the top seven lore drops I injected into Arcane.
1 – Elemental magic
When I first watched Avatar: The Last Airbender back in 2004, I got obsessed with elemental magic. It became the foundation not only for The Arcane Prophecy, but in nearly every fantasy novel I write, regardless of the series.
2 – A fictional sport
Quidditch from Harry Potter was the initial inspiration, but it also made no sense. Injecting a fictional sport into The Arcane Prophecy was my way of fixing that by focusing on strategy and balanced scoring instead of a single game-ending mechanic.
3 – A magical village
A lot of my works are dark and dank, but Arcane is an exception. Locations like Aurora Village help distinguish Arcane from my other series that deal with war, psychological torture, and prolonged imprisonment. Injecting something like this peaceful enclave near the academy into the lore gave me a sigh of relief.
4 – A mysterious forest
The Forbidden Forest in Harry Potter was an inspiration, but so was the real-life Fernwood State Forest, a place believed to hold some paranormal activity. The forest surrounding the Arcane Elemental Academy holds dark creatures, mysterious elements that present themselves only to select people, and even a strange design when viewed from overhead.
5 – Rune magic
Elemental magic is a big thing in Arcane, but I combined it with rune magic. In this series, characters can’t just visualize themselves summoning water, moving the wind, or conjuring fire. They must first visualize certain runic combos to unlock their power.
6 – A magic academy
Arcane Elemental Academy houses 32 competing schools that teach their students elemental magic in accordance with their unique personalities and learning styles. That should tell you this isn’t dark academia, but one with a school whose guides and instructors go the distance for their students.
7 – A prophecy
The book’s called The Arcane Prophecy, so obviously, there’s going to be a prophecy involved. While I don’t like getting too tropey with my work, I set the stage early here when I turned a glimpse at the prophecy into an inciting incident that you could miss if you don’t read with a critical eye.
Where is that inciting incident and the prophecy’s first appearance lurking? Why don’t you try to locate it for yourself? Check out the first three chapters of The Arcane Prophecy and scope it out. You’ll also find elemental and rune magic, plus whispers of the Arcane Elemental Academy, featured.
If you’re a fan of young adult fiction where genre and literary styles collide, you will love this book. Read the first three chapters now.
