Selkies' Skins Extras
I have a lot of information to eventually archive here that may or may not make it into the story. This page will eventually contain character information, species lists, Castle Carrick history, deity listings, backstory behind the Makay's and their connection to the school, and more. It will grow slowly though as my main focus is my university work and the main story.
I have spent much of my life researching mythology, history, folklore, cultures, and more. However, please remember that this is a story. I take creative license in the areas where my version diverges from recorded mythology and folklore.
I have spent much of my life researching mythology, history, folklore, cultures, and more. However, please remember that this is a story. I take creative license in the areas where my version diverges from recorded mythology and folklore.
Voices
Singing is a big thing for the Makay family, and music in general. Both of these figure in heavily with their magical practice and life. Kirsty especially is good at soothing with her voice, and one of the "before the story" happenings involved Kirsty calming an attacking unicorn by singing a lullaby. The song I'd always thought of her singing in that instance was the Manx Lullaby.
This particular rendition I share has two singers that sound to me very much like Finnol and Etain. Kirsty would have a similar, though slightly younger voice to her mother. Many thanks to Sláinte for putting this up. If you like this, you might like checking out other songs they have recorded. Their music very much portrays the Makay's spirit... or perhaps vice verse, though I found it AFTER conception of this family.
In the Leomaris common room she can often be found singing to soothe everyone's worries before big tests.
October 15, 2012
This particular rendition I share has two singers that sound to me very much like Finnol and Etain. Kirsty would have a similar, though slightly younger voice to her mother. Many thanks to Sláinte for putting this up. If you like this, you might like checking out other songs they have recorded. Their music very much portrays the Makay's spirit... or perhaps vice verse, though I found it AFTER conception of this family.
In the Leomaris common room she can often be found singing to soothe everyone's worries before big tests.
October 15, 2012
Castle Carrick and the Founders
Castle Carrick was founded as a magical school. Aemilius Spiralis wanted magic confined to those that were purely human. He was particularly suspicious of the Unseelies, and not all those who were Unseelie could be told by sight (unlike the Finmen, who were very easy to tell by their terrible finny visage). Adalwulfa Bertramus and Delphine Leomaris both wanted the school to be more inclusive to all magical beings, for reasons of their own.
Bertramus' reasoning was that interbreeding with the Fey was a common thing in the past, and she suspected that her family had connections to Faerie. Ravens had particular connection to her, and it was rumored during her lifetime that she was a Shifter, with the ability to take on the form of a white raven. There are also rumors that she or her family in the past were connected to one of the Raven goddesses, the Morrigan (or more correctly and likely, one of the Morrigans, as she was a triparte goddess) or even perhaps to Odin due to that Germanic god's connection to ravens and hailing from somewhere in what became Germany. She was particularly partial to those with quick minds or were willing to put in long hours of study and application to hone their skills.
Bertramus had twins with an unknown male, one child male and one female. Inexplicably, the boy bore dark hair and green eyes while his sister was fair haired and light eyed. She never revealed who the father was, and as the children also had pointed ears, sharp chins, and were highly skilled with music as magic, the whispers about her connections with the Fey only grew louder.
Delphine Leomaris likewise was suspected of consorting with nonhumans. He changed his crest several years before the founding of Castle Carrick, to include a fishtailed lion (which he lovingly referred to as "my sealion") and favored being near water. This proclivity to stay near water and to become absolutely intolerable if not within a short trip of something connected to the sea is the sole reason why the Castle was built where it was. The others simply could not tolerate his short temper, listlessness, or his habit of spending hours looking into a wine glass for hours "checking on something."
Despite his oddities, Leomaris was a brave fellow, especially skilled with daring ocean exploits, dueling (magical and not), curse breaking, and animal care (magical and not). Several of the students that were under his care credited him with saving their lives, but refused to elaborate how. He did have a wife, who survived him, but oddly disappeared the day after his funeral. There are reports that she jumped off a cliff, but whether one believes that depends on if they believe a couple of drunk men and their tale of a crying woman "hoisting herself o'er the cliff, but there was just a brown seal swimming to sea when we gots to the edge to look."
Aemilius Spiralis was less well-liked, though also a good teacher. With the students that he was assured were perfectly human and from pure magic families he was kind and would go out of his way to ensure a point was understood or to find the answer to a question that was out of his experience. Those that he picked to be his disciples became very skilled in earth magics. He was far less kind to those he thought had even the slightest Fey blood, and his students sometimes whispered about him screaming about Finmen on particularly troubled nights.
November 11, 2012
Bertramus' reasoning was that interbreeding with the Fey was a common thing in the past, and she suspected that her family had connections to Faerie. Ravens had particular connection to her, and it was rumored during her lifetime that she was a Shifter, with the ability to take on the form of a white raven. There are also rumors that she or her family in the past were connected to one of the Raven goddesses, the Morrigan (or more correctly and likely, one of the Morrigans, as she was a triparte goddess) or even perhaps to Odin due to that Germanic god's connection to ravens and hailing from somewhere in what became Germany. She was particularly partial to those with quick minds or were willing to put in long hours of study and application to hone their skills.
Bertramus had twins with an unknown male, one child male and one female. Inexplicably, the boy bore dark hair and green eyes while his sister was fair haired and light eyed. She never revealed who the father was, and as the children also had pointed ears, sharp chins, and were highly skilled with music as magic, the whispers about her connections with the Fey only grew louder.
Delphine Leomaris likewise was suspected of consorting with nonhumans. He changed his crest several years before the founding of Castle Carrick, to include a fishtailed lion (which he lovingly referred to as "my sealion") and favored being near water. This proclivity to stay near water and to become absolutely intolerable if not within a short trip of something connected to the sea is the sole reason why the Castle was built where it was. The others simply could not tolerate his short temper, listlessness, or his habit of spending hours looking into a wine glass for hours "checking on something."
Despite his oddities, Leomaris was a brave fellow, especially skilled with daring ocean exploits, dueling (magical and not), curse breaking, and animal care (magical and not). Several of the students that were under his care credited him with saving their lives, but refused to elaborate how. He did have a wife, who survived him, but oddly disappeared the day after his funeral. There are reports that she jumped off a cliff, but whether one believes that depends on if they believe a couple of drunk men and their tale of a crying woman "hoisting herself o'er the cliff, but there was just a brown seal swimming to sea when we gots to the edge to look."
Aemilius Spiralis was less well-liked, though also a good teacher. With the students that he was assured were perfectly human and from pure magic families he was kind and would go out of his way to ensure a point was understood or to find the answer to a question that was out of his experience. Those that he picked to be his disciples became very skilled in earth magics. He was far less kind to those he thought had even the slightest Fey blood, and his students sometimes whispered about him screaming about Finmen on particularly troubled nights.
November 11, 2012
Pumpkin cider
Pumpkin juice was made popular by Rowling, but pumpkin cider surfaced now and then before she came out with her Harry Potter. Pumpkin ciders are currently enjoying a bit more fame thanks to her. Pumpkin juice is ok, but I honestly prefer the cider. A hard pumpkin cider is made much the same as hard apple cider, combining the two. Non-alcoholic versions are easy to make.
Alcohol-bearing
Non (well, if you substitute the vanilla vodka for imitation vanilla)
It is very good hot and spiced... Professor Gerwulf likes to have a bit with breakfast for its warming properties.
Jan 29, 2013
Alcohol-bearing
Non (well, if you substitute the vanilla vodka for imitation vanilla)
It is very good hot and spiced... Professor Gerwulf likes to have a bit with breakfast for its warming properties.
Jan 29, 2013
The things
You know those things that live in your closet and are even worse than a boggart? Think even creepier. The things are not given any other name for a very good reason. To name them would give them more power, the reverse of what normally happens when confronting a fear. Made of the collection of all humanity's darkest secrets and terrors, they like to take both happiness and life force from the victim. They prefer to feed on nonhuman entities that human folk bear animosity to, but they'll take from whoever they want and have access to.
They particularly find it easy to come into existence around battlefields, scenes of massacre, and where psychopaths plot or spend time. They especially love terrorists, as those with terroristic tendencies generally make plenty of havoc for them to use as cover for feeding. Those with significant loss in their past are especially easy prey.
Jan 29, 2013
They particularly find it easy to come into existence around battlefields, scenes of massacre, and where psychopaths plot or spend time. They especially love terrorists, as those with terroristic tendencies generally make plenty of havoc for them to use as cover for feeding. Those with significant loss in their past are especially easy prey.
Jan 29, 2013
On Mara and the Lady of the Well
The Lady of the Well in this story is a personification of all landwater goddesses in Celtic Legend, and meant to be the soft side. Although together Mara and the Lady show the two extremes of water goddess personalities and can be seen as part of a greater whole, they both are composites of all others. I thought long and hard about writing these goddesses this way before even starting the game with my mate that eventually gave a reason to be writing this story. The reasons that I chose to do two main faces are:
1. Each body of water or large area of the seas has its own spirit. I tried to show this with the spirit of the damaged gyre, and there is also one for the Loch beside Castle Carrick, though that one is a far more retiring spirit.
2. I wanted to work with the interconnectedness of water. Although each state of water is very separate, close study of the water cycle shows how all waters are ultimately connected and eventually join or have been joined.
So yes, before anyone asks, the Lady of the Well does connect into the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legends, each being aspects of the other in my storyline.
March 17, 2013
1. Each body of water or large area of the seas has its own spirit. I tried to show this with the spirit of the damaged gyre, and there is also one for the Loch beside Castle Carrick, though that one is a far more retiring spirit.
2. I wanted to work with the interconnectedness of water. Although each state of water is very separate, close study of the water cycle shows how all waters are ultimately connected and eventually join or have been joined.
So yes, before anyone asks, the Lady of the Well does connect into the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legends, each being aspects of the other in my storyline.
March 17, 2013
An Irish Blessing
From the Lady of the Well
There is a traditional Irish Blessing that I particularly associate with the Lady of the Well, which I would like to share. For reasons that I hope are obvious, she particularly likes this one.
May the blessing of the rain be on you--
the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit
so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.
May the blessing of the great rains be on you,
may they beat upon your spirit
and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there many a shining pool
where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.
March 17, 2013
May the blessing of the rain be on you--
the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit
so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.
May the blessing of the great rains be on you,
may they beat upon your spirit
and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there many a shining pool
where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.
March 17, 2013
Where's Finnol's Office?
Finnol works at the Order of Fisheries and Water Conservation. The main offices are located in the "London" area as far as most are concerned, but are specifically found in Southend-on-the-Sea, which is located on Herne Bay (look it up). There is a reason it is located where it is and why only those that have a reason to be there are able to get to correct address for the building. This is not the original location, and the offices do sometimes get moved.
February 4, 2014
February 4, 2014
Help out the story
Every bit toward the kickstarter helped! Even just $1 adds up. You can watch a vid with a bit of the story behind the story, and check the updates to hear a couple episodes read to you. Thanks so much to those of you that helped it fund.
Want to continue helping and Prefer Paypal?
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Pretty unhappy that my info regarding Seal Point, a fictional place, and other fictional places where they'd be on the real world map is GONE. Where did it go?
