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Mythology of the Sword Bearer

1/21/2020

You’ve probably noticed by now that Legend of the Sword Bearer is rife with mythological tropes. The core is definitely Celtic, as I think most of you are aware. The Celtic peoples and cultures had rich mythology filled with colorful heroes, monsters and gods. Unfortunately, a lot of their myths have been lost to time. Most of their myths are only half-remembered in folk tales and legends, once told among isolated rural folk.

Early on, I planned on taking elements from other mythologies, like Norse and Greek myths to fill in the gaps. For example, the legend of a magic sword is common to Celtic and Norse mythology; so I took some elements from both and blended them together. You’ll see more of that in upcoming books.

Every fictional universe has some kind of history to it and everything has a reason for existing. In Book 3, Elwyn explains the existence of the Graal, what it does, and why it must be destroyed. Of course, I took the idea from the Holy Grail of Arthurian legend; the problem is in the earlier Celtic versions of the Grail Quest story, the Grail was not necessarily holy and had nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Many Celtic myths revolve around the idea of a magic vessel that grants youth, life, or something else. Sometimes it’s not the vessel itself but the brew it contains. Magic cauldrons are common. If you’ve read The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander, you know what I’m talking about. In one of the early Welsh legends, Arthur and his knights go on a quest to the underworld to retrieve a magic cauldron; this, I believe, might be one of the origins of the Grail-Quest in later legends. So what does the cauldron do? It was supposedly imbued with various magical powers, but this wasn’t what I needed. I needed a cauldron more like the Black Cauldron. Welsh legends also speak of a cauldron that could restore life to the dead. Just what I needed. Where did it come from? Who made it, and why? Back to Celtic myths. In addition to being the god of smiths, the Celtic god Gofannon was charged with making a magical ale that could grant immortality. How did he make this magic brew? Why not in a magic cauldron that he himself forged?

By this point, you’re probably wondering where the human sacrifice angle came from. Well, human sacrifice was fairly common among the Celtic cultures. Though not as bloodthirsty as many are led to believe, the Celts did sacrifice humans to vengeful earth gods. Why? Why did the gods require human blood to be spilled? So they could live forever. This is how the Graal works; it steals the life-force of one being and transfers it to another. This was pure innovation on my part. I don’t think my ancestors ever really thought about why human sacrifice was required for the gods to be happy.

This just part of the mythological development of Legend of the Sword Bearer. I’ll be publishing a second part, and maybe even a third part, so keep your eyes open for that.

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Geek Confession: I'm not really into Star Wars...

1/6/2020

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I must confess, while I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from Star Wars, I don’t think I can rightly call myself a fan. I’m committing geek heresy here, but I’m just not all that interested. I see myself as an outsider to the franchise. Real Star Wars fans dislike the sequel trilogy. I don’t feel the sheer disgust that seems to exude from them when you bring up the series; as though the Original Trilogy was some great masterpiece, and this is an impostor. I was baffled, to be honest. I’m not saying that the new trilogy is the greatest thing ever, but I’ve enjoyed it. Yes, even the Last Jedi. I didn’t understand why other fans were so adamant that it was terrible.

The other day, I found out that the Jedi are basically kidnapped as children so they don’t form emotional attachments. I thought to myself “That’s terrible. No wonder the Sith are so angry.” My next thought was “Wait, they’re the bad guys!” and that’s when I realized I’m not a fan at all. If I lived in the Star Wars universe, I’d be either a Mandolorian or a smuggler. Actually, if we’re being realistic, I’d probably be a moisture farmer or a starship mechanic. If someone asked me whether I was on the side of the First Order/Empire or the Jedi, I’d just say “neither. You all suck.” and drink my blue milk in peace.

Star Wars was around a lot when I was a kid, and I certainly did watch it, but I didn’t really understand it until I was nearly an adult. For whatever reason, I just wasn’t all that interested; which is odd, considering starships and swords were my bread and butter. As I thought further, I’ve only watched the Original Trilogy all the way through only a couple of times. I’ve never even seen Episode III. I watched a season of the Clone Wars, and then somewhere along the way lost interest. I’ve never read the novels and I’ve only read a handful of the comics. Meanwhile, I’ve watched Firefly at least four times, and the Lord of the Rings over and over again. At this point, calling myself a Star Wars fan would be disingenuous.

Now, don’t get me wrong; I don’t dislike Star Wars either. I’m just sort of indifferent. And you know what? That’s OK. Let other people enjoy it. Let them revel in it, but don’t ruin it for the casual movie-goers like myself. At the end of the day, it’s really only a movie.

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I'm Ian Wilson; an eccentric comic artist, just telling a story.

Check out Great Scot! Productions! Available for the next 1 day via @Teespring: https://t.co/9pHE1v7EeY
— Ian T. Wilson, author/artist (@TheGr8Scot) August 17, 2020

Stories are everywhere

Mythology of the Sword Bearer

Geek Confession: I'm not really into Star Wars...

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