7 ways Spirit Prophecy inspired Astray Mage
As Spirit Legacy inspired Cursed Mage, Spirit Prophecy had a looser effect on Astray Mage. Still, the inspiration rings true.
With Cursed Mage circulating throughout the masses, it’s time to turn my attention to Book II in the Catenarian Chronicles, Astray Mage. Just as E.E. Holmes’ Spirit Legacy influenced Cursed Mage more than perhaps any other book, movie, or TV show out there, Spirit Prophecy also inspired Astray Mage, but to a lesser extent.
Nevertheless, rolling with that familiar, but fresh approach, I can count seven ways Holmes’ instant classic rubbed off on Astray Mage. Again, it’s more subtle in Book II, and that becomes even more of the case for what I have planned for Book III, Rising Mage, but there was still enough to pen an entire article around the subject.
1 – A child spirit
In Spirit Prophecy, Jess crossed a Caged spirit known as The Silent Child. This girl would feel intense pain every time she tried to communicate with Jess. And The Silent Child, whose real name is Mary, let Jess in on what this doomsday prophecy looked like after she was Uncaged.
In Astray Mage, Kaija also meets a child spirit, Annikki, but that’s where the similarities end. As opposed to being dead for centuries like The Silent Child, this spirit has only been dead for a couple of years, and she lets Kaija in on how she died early in the work.
It’s one of those OMG moments for Kaija, who, upon discovering what happened to this girl, realizes there’s way more to the Augury Party than meets the eye. If you read my freebie Deceived Mage, you’ll know where I’m going with this.
2 – The setting
Just like Fairhaven Hall, Linna Yliopisto is a vast, ancient castle. While it seems like it’s set in the countryside, the reader will soon find out that’s not the case. Again, if you read Deceived Mage, you’ll already know what’s up, but if you’re more of the climactic type, you’re in for one hell of a surprise starting with a one-liner in Cursed Mage.
As with Jess, the novelty of castle life wears off rather quickly for Kaija, and reality sets in when she sees the next item on this list in action.
3 – Authoritarianism
I’ve been telling my closest friends that there are close links between Deceived Mage and Astray Mage, as the two books play off one another. While reading Deceived Mage is completely optional and not required to understand the Catenarian Chronicles, it provides solid background information on characters like Samuli Kinnunen.
It also implies something about Ella’s twin brother, Heikki. Ella becomes the first Mage friend Kaija makes, so naturally, there’s a bond here. So, when Ella takes matters into her own hands of why the spirit of that young girl is reaching out to Kaija, the reader will learn that it’s not something Ella’s permitted to do.
It’s another OMG moment for Kaija and a real eye-opener when Ella “goes missing” for a few days. Once again, Deceived Mage sheds light on this.
Anyway, when Jess and Hannah first enter Fairhaven Hall, it’s not long until they realize just how bureaucratic the place is. But, as time goes by, they learn of the corruption, control, and the outright lengths the Durupinen Council will go to maintain their Sisterhood’s status quo.
4 – Hazing
In Spirit Prophecy, Jess and Hannah find themselves the subjects of a brutal hazing “ritual” as a way to “atone” for their mother abandoning her duties to the Durupinen. Things take a brutal turn when an Elemental shows up — think something comparable to a Dementor from Harry Potter — not like the Elementals in my related series.
But, Jess and Hannah escape and even turn the tables on the other Durupinen Apprentices. As for Kaija, she’s no outcast since her parents ran away not from the Auguries, but their rival faction, the Mercenaries.
As the “new girls” who also happen to be Maalivahtis — Mages who can control one of the classical elements PLUS spirit simultaneously — Kaija and Lilja find themselves in one of the “cool” cliques.
But, not everyone’s willing to initiate them and feels that the two girls got a free pass. This character goes to great lengths to single out and haze Lilja, the more vulnerable of the two, in the most snake-like way.
Of course, Kaija’s not happy about this. When she catches wind of what’s going on, she does something she shouldn’t. And it makes her life at Linna Yliopisto that much harder.
5 – Runes, languages, and wards
If there was something about Harry Potter I never cared for, it’s the fact that so many spells are in a form of Latin. Now, I love Latin, but I also like the old Gaelic/Celtic languages since they just roll off the tongue in a cool way.
Whether it’s Scots Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, or a similar language, they would’ve fit the Harry Potter setting so much better. Anyway, Spirit Prophecy uses those languages that are typically native to the British Isles.
As for Astray Mage and Cursed Mage, we instead use a modified form of Finnish. Why Finnish? Honestly, it’s a complicated yet cool language. Plus, I’m sure some of it has to do with my favorite symphonic metal band, Nightwish, hailing from Suomi.
Regarding runes and wards, I picked up the idea straight from the Gateway Trilogy, but stuck strictly to the Elder Futhark. Each rune corresponds to one of the elements, and much of what you’ll see in Deceived, Cursed, and Astray Mage came straight out of Lisa Chamberlain’s Runes for Beginners.
Rune magic and divination were something I was hardcore into for a while, and I’ve been meaning to get back into it. This became paramount when, after having lost my obsidian Kenaz rune for going on four years, it randomly turned up about a month ago. A sign? It might be, and a good one, too.
6 – Court sessions
I wrote an entire piece on this one in my previous post, as a nice, little, slanted court session made up Spirit Prophecy’s climax. As for Astray Mage, there’s a court case, something I implied would happen a couple of sections above.
But for this one, Kaija already committed the crime — just for the record, she didn’t kill anyone — and she knows the hammer’s coming down on her.
This was one of those scenes and chapters I debated writing about, since it could cause the reader to see Kaija in another light. But, it worked because, to help set the stage for later installments, I needed to stack the deck against Kaija.
One thing to remember is that I prefer shades of gray as opposed to stereotypical dark vs. light, so antagonizing Kaija a little here while also providing some antagonistic sympathy for a school bully, it allowed me to keep that theme going.
7 – Faction vs. Faction
I know I’ve said this somewhere before, but one of my favorite storylines in the Gateway Trilogy is that it puts two corrupt factions against one another. Astray Mage follows that storyline, but with one major difference.
As far as Astray Mage goes, all I’ll say is that Washington D.C. played a role in inspiring it. That said, I may have already given it away if you read between the lines, and it might be the most disturbing truth Kaija learns.
It also gives the book its unapologetic libertarian theme. And that’s what sets Astray Mage apart from most sanitized genre fiction reads. Check it out now.
(This article first appeared on The Libertarian Book Reviewer)
