Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A-Z blogging challenge: S

S is for Signs and Symbols. They are everywhere in Elbion. One of the most important signs/symbols is that of the Mark of All Gods.


The Mark of All Gods is a specific symbol that represents a few different things depending on the context. The symbol on its own represents the entire pantheon of gods, the tweleve supreme beings of the heavens and the amorphus Chaos God. So put into the context of say, being on a temple, it then comes to mean a universal place of worship.

The most important context of all, however, is when the mark is found upon a person, as in a birthmark. This is very rare. It means that the person with the birthmark was born gifted by all of the gods' bloodlines. Is this confusing? Think back to Greek mythology and its many stories of children fathered by a god or goddess. Now imagine that there was a child who claimed all of the Olympians in their parentage. Get it now? Its an incredibly rare event. These children are often called the Godborn, and Ariadne just happens to be one of them.

So what can these Godborn do? Pretty much anything really within some limits. Since magic originates with the gods in Elbion, in order to have access to a particular type of magic you had to be related to one of the gods. The more closely you are related to them, the stronger your connection to their magic. A Godborn has a strong bloodline connection to all of the gods, so they have access to every type of magic there is. Godborn who are like Ari and aggressively study magic, become immensely powerful. Their great limitation is their mortality, which is bound by the laws of magic and the exchange of power. For example, Ari once saved Famke's life with her magic and it very nearly killed her. Like any muscle in the body, one's capacity for power can be exercised and grow, but it is never limitless.

In my novels, signs and symbols are everywhere and hugely important! They are something to watch for!

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