Creating more short stories to enhance the world-building for Mythnium, I often think back on characters I have read about in other fantasy novels, and I ask myself a ton of what-if questions. Sometimes these questions spawn a new facet to Mythnium. Other times, a new character is born. Then, sometimes the what-if questions take me down an unexpected path entirely.
Prior to writing Eliviae, I was contemplating female warriors. And I was contemplating berserkers, and a new what-if question formed. The answer to my internal question blossomed into this female character that carries so many facets legend, fact, and fiction within her.
Eliviae is a daughter, an outcast, a wife, and a mother with a traumatic past, and a history of mental illness. At least, that is what she always attributed her black outs to – her mind being broken in some way. The more I thought about her, the more I needed to write her out.
The more I wrote out her past, the more I needed her to reconcile her past with her uncertain future. I had to set her on a path.
And I needed to address her questions, her bloodline, and her inheritance.
And I wanted her to be a berserker.
However, I knew very little about the berserker lore.
Real world legends speak of these warriors, mainly men. I have yet to come across a legend of a woman who was suspected to be one, who in the heat of battle exhibited superhuman fighting prowess, or superhuman strength.
In Nordic history, berserkers were most akin to villainous fighters who raped and pillaged with no apparent moral compass. Their trances allowed them to kill indiscriminately, and often appeared to dull their own senses to pain, allowing them to fight despite taking mortal wounds. Though, the Viking shield maidens might have been, amid much debate, feminine aspects of berserker lore.
In more modern (1900’s) fantasy fiction legends, almost always, berserkers were solely men. These men became legendary heroes for their people, though they were also feared because of their instability and chaotic tempers. But all that is ever told is the manifestation of the innate skill. Little is said of the person beyond that instant switch into rage/battle mode.
Writing Eliviae gave me an opportunity to incorporate this sort of hero into Mythnium. I took this opportunity to create a story encompassing all berserkers as a society, as a bloodline, one that can affect male and female equally. And I took the opportunity to explore the battle-rage as a bittersweet curse and blessing.
For what happens when a berserker does not know they are a berserker?
How many innocent perish in the tidal wave of power that overtakes the untrained, or unknowing skill holder?
What happens when the berserker society is so far removed from the rest of the world, they are considered not heroes, but menaces to be cast out and vilified?
Eliviae explores some of these questions, but also leaves the door open for more to be asked. Her journey in the short story is really just a beginning, and introducing the berserker society paves the way for some interesting interactions I hope to share in future shorts and in the main storyline for Mythnium.
If you’ve not read Eliviae yet, I sincerely hope you do. Once you do, as always, please leave a review for other readers.