Happy Friday! Today, we're bringing you an article by Kristina W. Kelly, in which she tells us about her sapphic fantasy book, Tavern Tale, specifically the magic system! Get inspired for your own story, or perhaps you will find your next read.
When I started writing Tavern Tale, all I knew about the magic system was that the main character, Divine, depended on her talisman to connect to her magic. Without it, she was powerless. The journey that followed of uncovering how magic worked on their continent, Trelvania, became a path that touched aspects of faith, economics, and the culture of the world experienced in Tavern Tale.
Most of the story takes place in the city of Iramont. It's autumn and the city is decorated with symbols of the Goddess of Fields, and the harvest market celebrations are in full swing. There's a scene where a servant of the Goddess of Fields summons produce from a distant farm…instantly. It's part of the magic servants known as Harvesters get when pledged to that goddess. (More on pledging in a bit.) The Harvester is offering their product in the fall market, undercutting the cost farmers. There's a difference in economics of magically-summoned and farmer-picked food, impacting the decisions the town denizens make. Do they support the local famers, or choose a lower priced item from someone who can magically make it appear?
Deities and magic weave throughout all aspects of life. The servants of the various temples are the visual reminder of that. Anvils serve the God of Storms and can summon lightning bolts. Hydromancers serve the Goddess of Standing Water. They can use calm surfaces of water to project images of a location in real-time, making them excellent ways to send urgent messages from city to city. Tricksters serve the God of Day and Deceit. They're the only ones who can manipulate light and create the lamps used within the city. Or enchant signs that seem to animate with the movement of light—but be careful if you aren't specific, as you might end up with something embarrassing flashing. They're called Tricksters for a reason.
So how does someone get magic? I had recently read Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher and was fascinated by a world that not only had multiple gods, but where one of the gods vanished and that impacted the abilities of that god's followers. In Tavern Tale, each city has a Holy District which contains temples for the various gods and goddesses. If a person wants to use magic, they pledge their devotion to one deity, create a talisman, and find out how deep their magic well is (or how much power they'll have). Part of dedicating themselves to one deity is the blessings they get. Divine is a Soulshield pledged to the Goddess of Souls. She can heal wounds, protect against injury, and influence moods.
The people who don't pledge to serve are free to worship as many or as few deities as they want. But the more followers one deity has, the more power they're said to have and spread perks to their followers, like minor luck. So the servants are always trying to recruit people to their specific temple. Notice I said people. The temples teach that non-human races can't use magic, thus can't receive any perks from worshiping a deity. This creates discrimination and bias between humans and non-humans, which is a subtle theme in Tavern Tale; examining how we treat those unlike ourselves. And a theme of questioning— how much do we believe from the leaders of our religious institutions without examining it closely ourselves?
Divine is on a quest to recover her talisman and her magic, reconnect to her goddess and get back to her job as a Soulshield. Simple, right? Saph, the flirty bartender, will help Divine find her talisman if she agrees to help Saph with a mysterious quest in a chest. Divine will be presented with a chance at romance. And a chance to discover more about her own world, and how her magic works, that makes her question everything she's been told. Maybe the side quest is the main quest, after all.
About Author
Kristina W. Kelly writes fantasy, sci-fi, and poetry. Her works include her coauthored epic science fantasy series The Etherea Cycle, her sapphic fantasy romance Tavern Tale, and her sci-fi and fantasy poetry collection, Imaginari. Kristina is a trumpet player, plays video games, and tends to her flower garden and two children in Indiana.
Get your copy of Tavern Tale: https://kristinaseyes.com/book/tavern-tale/
Visit Kristina's website: https://kristinaseyes.com
Stay in touch: kristinawkelly on Instagram, Threads, X, Tiktok, Bluesky
Comentários