Azriel | Lux Ex Tenebris ✓

Mythology

All right, I am a huge fan of Greek and Roman mythology hence why a lot of my book is based on it.

I just wanted to explain a few things here since I started this book initially when reading about Lord Thanatos and his daughter in A Court of Wings and Ruin.

First I actually chose the name because it somehow came to my mind and I liked it but then I did some research and found out that Mimas is the seventh biggest moon of the 82 known moons. I thought moon perfectly fitted the Night Court. Then I did more research....the moon Mimas is named after a giant who was the son of Gaia (more about her later).

Misma is based on Harmonia which is the Goddess of Harmony and Concord. Her opposite is Eris (which I used for Fillias [because I actually love Eris in ACOTAR])

Harmonia is described as the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite —> which I thought was suitable for Misma; I described her as feminine and beautiful but in the the course of the story she turns into a fighter and also gets more comfortable in her sexuality.

And in addition, Harmonia's youngest son was Illyrius who eventually ruled Illyria.

Harmonia's husband was Cadmus, the heroic slayer of monsters, which somehow also fits Azriel.

Next we have Jeen. Jeen is based on the Roman Goddess Discordia (her Greek equivalent is as said before Eris). She is the Goddess of Chaos and Discord, hence the complete opposite of Misma.

In mythology her sibling is Thanatos (in my story I changed it to her father). She is also based on Apate (another sister of Eris and Thanatos). Apate is the Goddess of Deceit and Trickery. Jeen was manipulative and also lied a lot.

Misma's mother is based on Gaia, who is the mother of Mimas. She is the personification of the Earth and often stands in connection to fertility (she is seen as the ancestral mother —> Mother Gaia). Hence why I chose for Misma to be Half-Nymph and her mother to be Nymph. Nymphs are often also connected to fertility and so it fitted perfectly. And in addition to that, I threw in a little Hades and Persephone storyline — Misma's mother is a Nymph from the Spring Court and her father, Lord Thanatos met her when hunting there and claimed her his. He made her join him in the Hewn City (underworld somehow).

She is based on Aether who is often described as Gaia's father. He is described as the personification of the bright upper sky. Aether means brightness —> see what I did there - brightness and light bringer/summoner

Lastly we have Lord Thanatos. He is the personification of Death, he lives in the underworld, he is the son of night and darkness (Nyx and Erebus). He lives at the entrance to Tartaros and in mythology he partly lives in the underworld and partly in the normal, mortal world. Hence why Misma lives in the Court of Dreams, the rest of her family in the Hewn City.

Thanatos' sister in mythology is Ker hence why I decided that Lord Thanatos and Keir should have a friendly (maybe even brother like relationship). Ker in mythology stands for personified, violent death.

Now to even go into more detail. In mythology Thanatos' sisters are the Moirae which stand for fate; Goddesses of Fate. And Azriel and Misma met by fate.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!

No honestly, I just wanted to share these thoughts with you, please let me know what you think! I hope I did not bore you .....

Thanks for having read the book. All the best and lots of Love!!