A Year of Heroines in Fantasy: Karou, Rose Marshall, and Yorindesarinen

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The thing I love about this month's trio of heroines is that one of them is resurrected and two of them are dead, Yep, I'm talking heroines with a distinctly supernatural vibe. ;-)

Another thing I love about this otherworldly troika is how they hail from distinct Fantasy subgenres. Karou is from Laini Taylor's wonderful romantic fantasy, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Rose Marshall stars in Seanan McGuire's paranormal urban fantasy/ horror Sparrow Hill Road (Ghost Roads #1) and Yorindesarinen is a 'best supporting heroine' in my own The Wall of Night series, which is epic-heroic fantasy all the way. 

On the surface, Karou, Rose, and Yorindesarinen are as different as their Fantasy subgenres, but there is one more element that ties them together. All three have died under traumatic circumstances in their past lives.

Rose and Yorindesarinen are both easy to talk about in this respect without fear of spoilers, because Rose is already a ghost when introduced, and Yorindesarinen a spirit being living in a between-realm called the Gate of Dreams.

 

In the Ghost Road series, Rose was murdered in a hit-and-run. Her murderer, Bobby Cross, has sold his soul for immortality and Rose's murder was intended to seal the deal. Fifty-two years later, Bobby is still hunting Rose's ghost to finish what he started. In a tale spun between diners and highways--some real, some ghosts themselves--and constant tension between the living and dead, Rose must elude pursuit, deal with crossroads spirits and old gods, and find a way to finish Bobby before he ends her, once and for all. 

She's brave and determined, ruthless in her dealings with the road's many predators, but also kind to those in need -- and when the supernatural chips are down, you definitely want Rose on your side.

Yorindesarinen is a spirit guide and mentor to Malian, the main character in The Wall of Night series. And yes, you're right -- she does have a really long name. :D That's because in her clan, the more magically gifted an individual, the longer their name -- and Yorindesarinen was the greatest hero and champion of her people, the Derai. 

Like Malian, Yorindesarinen was a Chosen hero named in prophecy, but when the Derai fled a monstrous, demonic, and apparently unstoppable opponent, she died battling it alone. She also slew the monster, and has survived in spirit form to guide Malian and ensure that when she faces similar demonic forces, she won't do so alone. Yet her chief role, as Malian grows in strength, is to provide a moral compass in dealing with allies and enemies -- and like Rose, she is kindly disposed.

Ghost, check; spirit guide, check -- and then there's Karou. Initially, despite distinctive blue hair, Karou presents as a fairly standard young woman, having fun and open to adventure as she makes her way in the world. The reader quickly learns, though, that there's far more to Karou than meets the eye, starting with living in two realms. One is our world, the other is Elsewhere, where she serves the magician, Brimstone, who uses teeth to transfer souls into new bodies. 

When Karou's path crosses that of an angel called Akiva, she discovers that Elsewhere is a city of monsters and devils besieged by angels. She also learns of the star-crossed love of Akiva and Madrigal, a devil who gathered battlefield souls for Brimstone to reincarnate, but was executed for treachery and her soul forbidden reincarnation. The more Karou learns of Brimstone's work and Akiva's war, the more she comes to suspect that she, too, is one of the reincarnated... 

Past lives and present, Karou, Rose, and Yorindesarinen, are all brave and resourceful, resolute and daring -- and in addition to being kind, all three have a sense of fun. All great reasons to have them in my fantasy hall of fame. :-)

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Prior Posts: A Year of Heroines in Fantasy

February: Aerin, Elfrid, & Malian of Night
March: Yeine Darr & Rowan Birchmoon
May: Brienne of Tarth, Adjunct Tavore, & Asantir, Commander of Night
June: Shallan, Jehane Mor, & Aidris of the Chameln

July: Amat Kyaan, Rachael Boucher, & Nhairin

 

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About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is the award-winning author of Thornspell and The Wall Of Night fantasy series, as well as a poet, blogger, and lover of story. She has recently completed writing the final book in The Wall of Night series, which is now with publisher, Harper Voyager.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

A Year of Heroines in Fantasy #4: Shallan, Jehane Mor, & Aidris of the Chameln

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Here on Supernatural Underground, heroines are definitely our core business -- and for June, I'm shining my spotlight on Shallan, from Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series, and Jehane Mor in The Wall of Night -- as well as revisiting a longtime favorite, Aidris, the main character in Cherry Wilder's A Princess of the Chameln. 

Shallan features on Stormlight #3

I've chosen to feature these three heroines together because all are exiles and possess hidden powers. Shallan and Aidris both enter their respective stories as young women on the run as well. 

Shallan is fleeing a violent upbringing and her father's murder, while striving to save her brothers from a secret political-cum-criminal underworld. Where her family are nobles, but not rulers, Aidris's parents are the murdered King and Queen of Chameln. Their deaths are engineered through treachery, facilitating an invasion by a neighboring empire, which forces Aidris to flee for her life and assume a new identity, serving as a rank-and-file warrior in another adjoining realm. 

Jehane Mor first appears in The Wall of Night series as a member of a Guild of Heralds, traveling far and wide as one of a herald pair. Yet like Aidris, she is also a Queen-in-Exile, in her case from the ancient realm of Jhaine, which is ruled by nine priestess-queens. Their rule, though, has grown corrupt, and Jehane Mor's flight and exile was driven by opposition to their depravity. 

All three heroines have considerable magical power, although Shallan's are the most open. She becomes a Knight Radiant and is one of the leading champions in the battle to save her world from Odium (the Stormlight series' "big bad." )

Jehane Mor also has considerable magical power, chiefly of concealment and shielding against magical dangers, which fits with a herald's role and so disguises her greater abilities as a priestess-queen. Aidris, too, has powers, although they are mostly smallscale magics that help preserve her life, but which she is careful to keep concealed in her disguise as a household guard.

Of the three, she is also closest to the traditional "heroine-alone," whereas Shallan has a mentor (Jasnah Kholin), a lover (Adolin), and her fellow Knights-Radiant, as well as being bonded, like all Knights Radiant, with a supernatural being called a spren. Conversely, Jehane Mor, like Aidris, has lost many close companions through flight and exile, but retains her closest childhood companion, Tarathan. He has become the other half of their symbiotic herald pair, a bond so close that heralds frequently speak in unison.

Jehane Mor's origins are revealed in The Gathering of the Lost

Aidris may be the most alone of this month's heroine trio, but Shallan is the most vulnerable. Her traumatic childhood has resulted in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or split personalities, chiefly Veil and Radiant. Although a coping mechanism, the multiple personalities are also symptomatic of deepseated emotional trauma, which Shallan must constantly contend with in order to function as a Knight Radiant. 

Both Aidris and Jehane Mor, by comparison, are strongly grounded in their sense of self, and both are also quiet where Shallan is flamboyant. But where Aidris's quiet stems from shyness and a profound reserve, Jehane Mor is chiefly characterized by serenity as well as composure, even in the face of great danger. Like Aidris, though, the core of her strength is knowing and staying true to herself. 

Yet whether flamboyant or serene, traumatized or centered, one of a "band of comrades" or a protagonist alone, Shallan, Aidris, and Jehane Mor all merit their place in Fantasy's pantheon of heroines. 

Prior Posts: A Year of Heroines in Fantasy

February: Aerin, Elfrid, & Malian of Night
March: Yeine Darr & Rowan Birchmoon
May: Brienne of Tarth, Adjunct Tavore, & Asantir, Commander of Night

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About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is the award-winning author of Thornspell and The Wall Of Night fantasy series, as well as a poet, blogger, and lover of story. She has recently completed writing the final book in The Wall of Night series, which is now with publisher, Harper Voyager.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

A Year of Heroines in Fantasy #3: Brienne of Tarth, Tavore Paran, & Asantir

 
Following my wee hiatus on heroines last month, I'm back again for May and rarin' to talk Brienne of Tarth from the Game of Thrones 'verse, Adjunct Tavore (Paran) in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, and Asantir from m'own The Wall of Night quartet.

Brienne of Tarth, GoT series

All three are warriors in their respective societies, but not magic wielders as well -- unlike Aerin, Elfrid, and Malian, in my first Heroines post. So that's the first aspect they have in common -- although their disparities, as well as the qualities they share, are equally important in looking at this particular trio together. 

Brienne, for example, is very much an outlier in a man's world, where women are largely not accepted as warriors and certainly not knighted -- although in the Game of Thrones TV adaptation, which goes beyond the story arc of the books, Brienne does achieve this distinction. 

Tavore and Asantir, by contrast, inhabit worlds where women are as likely to be warriors as mages, and hold positions of power throughout their societies. Yet Tavore, like Brienne, comes from a noble family, whereas Asantir has risen through the ranks to become first captain of her Earl's honor guard, then overall Commander of the warrior House of Night.

On the other hand, both the honor guard role and loyalty to a leader -- in Brienne's case, Renly Baratheon, and in Asantir's the Earl of Night -- ties these two heroines closer together. Early in the Game of Thrones storyline, Brienne is chosen for Renly's elite Rainbow Guard, although her later path is more that of a knight errant, seeking to find and protect the two Stark sisters, Sansa and Arya. 

The Wall of Night series (USA)

When readers first meet Asantir in The Heir of Night (Book One), she is already captain of the Earl's Honor Guard, and unlike Brienne, she stays within her House's chain of command, and advances to command its armies. In this sense, her path is closer to that of Adjunct Tavore, who leads the Malazan Seventh Army throughout most of the ten-book Malazan series.

Tavore and Asantir are also more alike in personality than Brienne. Both are confident in themselves, keen minded, and experienced and successful soldiers. Brienne is equally adept as a warrior, but lacks Tavore and Asantir's confidence -- although, like them, her arc in the HBO shows her not only becoming a knight, i.e. recognized for her fighting prowess, but also commanding a wing of the army that faces the Night King. 

A major difference between Tavore, as opposed to both Brienne and Asantir, is the question mark over the sacrifice of her young sister, Felisin, to further her own rise in the service of the Malazan Empress.

Malazan #1

Asantir, however, is renowned in Night for her unwavering honor, loyalty, and duty, while Brienne is equally unswerving in her loyalty to Renly and in keeping faith with her pledge to find and protect the Stark sisters.  

As a woman following a warrior path, Brienne breaks the conventions of her society, yet in her knightly conduct and service she upholds them. In this sense, she may be something of a paradox, but otherwise, what you see with Brienne of Tarth is unquestionably who and what she is.  Conversely, with both Tavore and Asantir there are always hidden depths -- but a diversity of Fantasy heroines just adds more zest to the genre fun. 

The Wall of Night series (UK)

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Prior Posts: A Year of Heroines in Fantasy

February: Aerin, Elfrid, & Malian of Night
March: Yeine Darr & Rowan Birchmoon

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About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is the award-winning author of Thornspell and The Wall Of Night fantasy series, as well as a poet, blogger, and lover of story. She has recently completed writing the final book in The Wall of Night series, which is now with its publisher.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

Welcome To A Year Of Heroines: #1 — Aerin, Elfrid, & Malian of Night

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I am delighted to share the very good news that early last month I sent the manuscript for The Wall Of Night (WALL) series finale to Harper Voyager. 

The Wall of Night series, Books 1 - 3 (USA)

Although it will be some time yet before it reaches readers, I have been reflecting on the epic nature of the series, which is very much at the high-heroic end of the fantasy spectrum. 

Another aspect of the series that commentators often mention, is the degree to which it stars heroines—although there are still heroes in plenty. :-) 

What Makes A Heroine?

In 2022, I discussed the qualities that make a hero, from commitment through to character and courage. This year, I aim to take a favorite heroine (or two ;-) ) from loved books and feature them alongside a heroine from the WALL series. 

I know I'll have fun penning these posts, and hope you do the same with the reading. :D

A Trio of Heroines: Aerin, Elfrid, and Malian of Night

Aerin

Aerin, Firehair and Dragonslayer, is the hero(ine) of Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown. She is a princess of the nation of Damar, where all scions of the ruling House are famous for their magical power, or Gifts, also called Kelar. Except that is, for Aerin, who also ends being on outsider in the royal household because her mother was not of Damar, and is rumored by some to have been a witch. Because she takes after her mother in coloring and features, Aerin also looks very different from the multitude of her cousins, all growing up together in the royal court.

In short, she is a solitary and lonely child, and then young woman, who compensates by rehabilitating and retraining Talat, her father's injured warhorse. Together they set about slaying dragons—mostly small, but dangerous and nasty opponents nonetheless—that plague the countryside's remoter regions. Or so it begins, but inevitably a much larger dragon (Maur) arrives to terrorize Damar, at the same time demon armies, led by an evil sorcerer, are invading from the north. 

2007 edition

In the course of fighting them, Aerin's own magical powers finally manifest and she becomes the greatest hero of Damar. Given her solitary upbringing and the immense odds she must face, Aerin is the classic underdog, or "ugly duckling" (because she resembles her foreign mother) who must overcome daunting magical odds to win both her love, Tor, and succeed her father as a coruler of Damar. 

Elfrid

Elfrid, the protagonist of Ru Emerson's The Princess of Flames, is also a heroine alone—though like Aerin she comes from a large family of half-siblings, with a shared inheritance of magical powers. Elfrid possesses these powers from the outset, has trained as a warrior, and is renowned for her size and strength. (Think Brienne of Tarth in A Game of Thrones.) In her case, the major point of contention with her half-siblings is that she is illegitimate, and when a cabal among the siblings revolt against the old King, Elfrid first defends his life, then chooses to go into exile with him.

Where Aerin's storyline occurs in an unbroken sequence, Elfrid returns from exile some years later. She has served as a mercenary in the army of Gespry of Rhames, a kinsman whom she resembles physically—sufficiently so to take his place in leading the army that ostensibly fights against her country's enemies. Elfrid's true goal, however, and the army's, is to right her now-dead father's wrongs and overturn her corrupt half-brother's rule. 

The ensuing tale is one of battles and duels, rebellion and revenge—and love that must tread a proverbially thorny path to determine if it is also true.

Malian

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Like Aerin and Elfrid, Malian is the motherless daughter of a political and military ruler, the Earl of Night—a king in all but name. She, too, is a solitary heroine, although unlike both Aerin and Elfrid, she  has no siblings or extended family about her, and very few other young people of her own age. Yet like Aerin, Malian is her father's legitimate heir, so is destined to rule after him—until her magical powers manifest, resulting in flight and exile from both her warrior House and their ancient and demonic enemy.

These events occurs in The Heir of Night (#1), while The Gathering of the Lost (#2) takes place during Malian's exile. Where Elfrid's path centers upon family conflict and setting a kingdom's internal wrongs to right, and while Aerin must save her country, Damar, from external perils, Malian is confronting an extinction-level threat to her entire world. A threat that has arisen before, and where her predecessor has been promised that Malian, unlike herself, won't have to face it alone.

UK

Yet Malian frequently is alone, in part because of her nature, but also because of the sorcerous and demonic forces she opposes.  In this, her path resembles Aerin and Elfrid's, but where they are essentially warrior-heroes, with additional magical powers, Malian is primarily a mage. One who also operates as a secret agent, with more than a little ninja thrown in, during her years of exile. This path, and the adventures that go with it, reinforce her solitary course—although a vital part of Malian's story is the friends and allies she makes along the way.

As for lovers, it's the recently completed Book #4 that will reveal whether, like Aerin and Elfrid, romance lies in Malian of Night's stars.  

UK

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About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she has recently completed the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series, which is now with its publisher,
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.