The Weavers of Mythos

“O, Creator! Can Monsters exist in the sight of him who alone knows how they were invented, how they invented themselves, and how they might not have invented themselves?” - Charles Baudelaire

My earliest memories of storytelling are before the age of eight. My parents took turns reading to me and my sister, Jennifer, each night before bed. My mother read Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books and my father read The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Each collection touched my tender, innocent soul. However, I was forever changed by the lasting impressions of Lewis' first and last books: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Last Battle. The two books informed my early childhood storytelling and selection of other works in the Fantasy genre. I read voraciously; never experiencing complete satisfaction until my early twenties.

One afternoon, while in my father's study, I discovered The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay; the first book of the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy. I was enthralled by the intricate details of known mythology woven into the fabric of a world suspended in another time and place but forever connected to our world. At the root of Lewis and Kay's novels in the battle between good and evil with creatures and characters possessed of light and dark. Each transports the reader from our world into realms where the battles are fought and won or lost; with good and light winning the war.

As a creative writer of poetry and prose, I soon discovered a style that draws on the truth and nature of light and dark; good and evil; and life and death. While studying at California State University, Channel Islands I focused on English Studies with an emphasis in creative writing. My final or culminating project was Bosvenegh Manor: A Gothic Novel. Still unfinished, and a work in progress, Bosvenegh Manor pulls from the writings of C.S. Lewis and Guy Gavriel Kay; informing my choices on setting and world-building, symbolism and allegory, and representations of and about the truth of light and dark.

Before comparing and contrasting Lewis and Kay's works and how they have informed and developed my creative writing style I must begin with the original inspiration and context of my novel. Bosvenegh Manor began as a response to one of Vocal Media's 2022 summer writing challenges:

"Write the scariest, most bone-chilling horror fiction story - the kind of story you'd tell around a campfire on a summer night."

Every short story submission had the same first line:

"The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window."

I had never written a horror story and had no idea where my story would take me as I began typing. Within a couple of days, I submitted a short story that was less than 4,000 words with little chance that it would be a finalist. The short story was not a horror in the traditional sense; rather, it was more like the tragic fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm ending with a warning.

Bosvenegh Manor no longer stands, looking out on the moors and the woods. Cedrid and Dylan have long since left Cardinham. From time to time the panther is seen prowling Bodmin Moor and it has been said that the White Wolf and Krantz still roam the moors every full moon.

Stay off the moors and out of Cardinham Woods. But if you find yourself in either place and you see a flicker of candlelight coming from a cabin window, know that you have entered the realm of spirits and ghosts.

Where a story takes place is probably one of the more difficult processes of writing and authors choose the time and place according to their aesthetics, experience, and knowledge. Published only a few years after the end of World War II, C.S. Lewis begins the first chapter of his fairy tale, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by telling the reader

"This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids" (Lewis 1).

We are immediately transported to World War II; specifically during a moment in history known as the London Blitz. This event necessitated the evacuation of over a million children. Lewis was drawing from his own experiences and history to set the stage. However, the story doesn't take place in the countryside of England. a new country is discovered when Lucy Plevensie "looks into a wardrobe" and has tea with a faun. The creation of Narnia becomes the stage for all the actors of light and dark.

Like C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Guy Gavriel Kay's The Summer Tree opens in our world, at the University of Toronto. Interestingly, Kay attended the University of Toronto and was awarded a degree in law in 1978. Kay's knowledge of Toronot's campus informed how he wrote about the campus, shaded paths, Convocation Hall, etc. However, Kay's writing doesn't provide a time in history. We can assume that the time is relevant to the present in which Kay writes:

"An astonishing crowd of students and academics, bustling like a rock audience with pre-concert excitement, had gathered to hear the man..." (Kay 7).

In addition to opening with the known, Kay transports us and The Five to the "first of all worlds": Fionavar. Unlike Lucy and her siblings, the main protagonists don't stumble into the new world. They are recruited and delivered to Fionavar by Loren Silvercloak, a mage, and his source Matt Sören who was once King of the Dwarves. Choices in setting the stage by Lewis and Kay significantly influenced Bosvenegh Manor. I wanted to play with time and place; choosing geography and environments with elements that interested and fascinated me.

The initial short story was framed by an obscure and contemporary legend central to Bodmin Moor in north-eastern Cornwall. I decided to keep this location and began research to better understand the local legends and mythology of Cornwall, UK along with its history. This was important to the story because the time and place in which this story takes place, includes real locations, people, and historical sites. This research also provided context to my personal history and strong familial connections to this place. Both Lewis and Kay drew from their personal experiences and history to set the time of their stories. I, however, wanted to be able to remain in Cornwall, but not during the 21st Century. I kept envisioning horses, carriages, and dirt roads hemmed in by tall grass and stone curbs. Lewis's Narnia and Kay's Fionavar nurtured this desire to depict a pre-industrial England. Victorian authors like Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Shelley, and Brom Stoker informed my landscape - landing somewhere in the 19th Century. I researched architecture, fashion, folklore, and transportation; incorporating elements into my writing. As an example, in Chapter 5 of Bosvenegh Manor, "The Beasts Upon the Moors," Lord Cedric Arthur Hughes and his nephew, Dylan, are traveling by carriage back to Bosvenegh Manor after a long visit with the family attorney:

The clapping of horse hooves and the humming ir0n-framed wheels, filled the void of silence, while the two travelers stared out the windows onto the rugged landscape of Bodmin Moor. The sinking sun signaled the end of another day and the approach of night. The gentle rocking of the carriage and the rhythmic gallop began to pull Dylan towards twilight sleep. (22).

Turning back towards the window, Cedric watched the midnight purple terrain pass by as he thought about the eyes of the creature that had stared back at him. (23).

Another important aspect of the novels written by C.S. Lewis and Guy Gavriel Kay is the symbolism and allegorical representations. The Chronicles of Narnia are steeped in Christianity and one-to-one representations. Aslan is the embodiment of Jesus Christ whereas Jadis, the White Witch, is the Fallen Arch Angel, Lucifer, who becomes Satan. In Lewis's tale, Aslan pays the price for Edmund's betrayal; releasing him from Jadis's grip: a Sacrificial Atonement. The agents of good and evil are represented by the various talking animals in Narnia. Representatives of humankind, the Plevencies, the Sons of Adam, and the Daughters of Eve, endowed with freedom to choose, are thrust into a battle between good and evil. This type of narrative arc is repeated in fairy tales and fantasies; however, not as blatantly. Guy Gavriel Kay examines this battle between good and evil using Arthurian legendarium as well as Celtic and Norse Mythology throughout the trilogy. Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot reprise their roles and relive their tragic ends. The Wild Hunt recruits a new leader and races through forests and across the sky, devouring evil.

A little more subtle, Bosvenegh Manor, includes variations on symbolism and allegorical representations. Each chapter has a tile with an accompanying epitaph. Chapter 1, "The Cottage," includes:

"In my dreams, I found a little of the beauty I had vainly sought in life and wandered through old gardens and enchanted woods" (H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu).

In this chapter, Amelia is introduced. She is a daughter of Ynys Afallon and is the embodiment of the Lady of the Lake. Pagan rituals are performed in supplication at the Golden Tree of Ynys Afallon:

At the base of the steps, Amelia was greeted with the familiar fragrances of lavender, lemon balm, yarrow, vervain, and woad. The air was cool and wet and the sound of dripping water bounced off the granite walls of this subterranean space. In the center of this carved-out room was a golden tree standing at least a hundred hands tall and laden with the most beautiful white apples. Amelia walked across the bare granite floor to the tree, which was encircled by a deep pool of bioluminescence, and plucked a single apple. Caressing the trunk of the tree and looking up into its boughs she offered a prayer of thanksgiving and requested a blessing on the land, ensuring continued abundance. As a daughter of Ynys Afallon, she knew that the fruit may be the key to preserving the life of the young man, who at this very moment was riding into danger. Yet, with every blessing, there is a price to pay. That price may be that which most would not sacrifice: mortality. Forever unable to create life, forever barren, but forever immortal and forever alone. (2)

Closely related to symbolism and allegory, creature and character development have been based on themes of light and darkness and the roles each of the characters play as vessels for good and evil. Both C.S. Lewis and Guy Gavriel Kay use human beings and creatures of mythology and fantasy as vessels for good and evil. Lewis portrays Aslan as "good" and Jadis as "evil." In Kay'trilogy, evil comes in many forms; however, the most evil is Rakoth Maugrim the unraveller, also known as Sathain, the Hooded One. The Lios Alfar are the embodiment of light, yet the children in Paras Derval more clearly represent innocence.

Bosvenegh Manor may not have been successful as a campfire ghost story; however, it did become the framework for a Gothic novel. When the Fall 2022 semester began and I submitted my proposal to turn my short story into a novel, I realized I needed a better understanding of the genre. I knew I could lean on the elements from writers like Brom Stoker, Oscar Wilde, and Mayr Shelley, as each of their stories focuses on a singular supernatural being or a man-created beast. During my search, I came across a local legend of a phantom panther known as the "Beast of Bodmin Moor." As I continued to learn more about the mythology of this legend I discovered that Bodmin Moor has some other interesting legends, including that of the Lady of the Lake. And then I remembered the story of the "White Wolf of Hartz Mountains" from Captain Frederick Marryat's novel, The Phantom Ship; otherwise known as the legend of the "Flying Dutchman."

However, as I developed my characters I began to focus on representations of and about the truth of light and dark (good and evil). My characters began to embody legendary or mythological personas. Some characters evolve into creatures. Amelia, the Lady of the Lake, also known as Viviane or Nimue, is an enchantress who lives in a castle beneath a lake surrounding the island of Avalon. As a protector and a vessel of light, Amelia transforms into the Beast of Bodmin Moor when she is protecting Dylan. Amelia's foe is the beautiful Christina, the White Wolf, whose only desire is to destroy the du Lac line and is controlled by Hermann Krantz; or rather the evil spirit of Krantz. Dylan is the embodiment of Lancelot du Lac and Hermann Krantz is the reincarnation of the Spirit-hunter and companion to Christina. These are just a few examples of the intertwining of legends and mythlore.

Bosvenegh Manor, with notes and plot outlines, is currently at 45 pages. The struggle has been in the development of the characters and weaving a mythology specific to the story. Rather, the reinterpretation of legends and mythos. At the end of the day (or the completion of the novel), I hope that I am true to the principles and truths of light and dark and their applicability to this world, today.

Works Cited

Hyde Gonzales, Rebecca Ann. "Bosvenegh Manor." Fiction, 2022, vocal.media/fiction/bosvenegh-manor.

Hyde Gonzales, Rebecca Ann. Bosvenegh Manor: A Gothic Novel. 2022. Unpublished manuscripts of Rebecca A Hyde Gonzales, California.

Hyde Gonzales, Rebecca Ann. "Bosvenegh Manor: Presentation Notes."2022. Unpublished manuscripts of Rebecca A Hyde Gonzales, California.

Kay, Guy Gavriel. The Summer Tree. ROC, 2001.

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The Macmillan Company, 1950.