I described, last
week, a few of the creatures that you will encounter in my novel series, Diaries of Darkwana and how those
creatures relate to Japanese mythology.
I will, today,
describe the most prevalent creatures you will find in my series. Folklore calls
these creatures “kitsune,” but many versions of these creatures exist in many
different mythologies across much of Asia.
I, armed with a
creative license, picked and chose amongst those mythological factors want I wished to incorporate into my novels.
Let’s start
with the word, “kitsune.” A person ought to spell it the same single
as plural. I found this confused some readers, so I added an
“s” whenever I made the word plural.
Mythology often
pictures kitsunes as half-human half-fox. I create the female kitsunes in my
series as full-blown anthropomorphic foxes, while the males exist as
half-breeds—humans with fox tails and ears.
Kitsunes in my
series may mate with humans, kitsunes, or kitsune-human half-breeds.
Male offspring
arrive, with one exception (Mordechai),
as either human or half-breed.
Female children
(with the exception of Rebecca) arrive as either full breed kitsunes or full
breed humans.
Female full
breeds, consequently, prove more powerful than their half-breed counterparts.
This creates a power shift in gender roles. Titles, as a result, possess a
feminine ring, regardless of the person who holds that title (more on those
titles in a future post).
Most folklore
depicts kitsunes as shape-shifters. Some stories suggest that kitsunes could
only switch from the form of a regular fox to that of a person with fox traits,
such as fox ears and tails.
Many stories
portray kitsune as giant, multi-tailed, fox-shaped demons.
Diaries of Darkwana offers only a few
shape-shifters, and the effects of two of them prove limited.
York can transform
only from her usual form to a larger, beastier body (and back again, of
course).
Yuki Onna can transform her body from
flesh and fur to other substances, such as diamonds, provided that she touches
a sample of such a substance during her transformation.
Buthaynah stands as the only true
shape-shifter, which seems strange given her frankness and inflexible personality. She can turn into anything and anyone—but she cannot change her
tail, which must remain unchanged for reasons I’ll explain in a bit.
Buthaynah exists as a purple-furred,
brown-eyed kitsune who drinks Scotch, smokes fat cigars, gambles, and insults
her opponents with phrases such as, “twat waffle,” “ass-hat,” and “dick mitt. Her vocabulary stands at odds with that
of her clansmen, many of who speak regally.
Buthaynah also exists as my favorite character
from my series. I often feel as if I exercise little control over her. With
Buthaynah, I serve as a reporter, not an author.
In Japanese
mythology, a kitsune can grow up to nine tails. She or he grows more powerful
with each tail.
I use this in my
novels. The kitsunes of Darkwana frequently gain new tails throughout the
series. Whenever a kitsune evolves a new tail, she or he also evolves new,
supernatural abilities. My kitsunes cap out at nine tails.
I manage to
incorporate this also in my upcoming card game (Duelists of Darkwana), which I based upon my novels.
Since tails serve
as the source of their owner’s magic (called “fox fire”), Buthaynah
cannot shape-shift her own, lest she lose her ability to change back into her
normal form.
Many kitsune clans
live in Diaries of Darkwana. Each
possesses a unique headquarters, history, family crest, specialties, and
customs.
The Inari Clan
stands as the most prestigious, but all clans (with the exception of two) hold
membership with the C.K.C. (Council of Kitsune Clans).
These separate
clans and their customs serve as the subject of next week’s post.
See you then!
I publish my blogs as follows:
Tuesdays: A look at the politics of
the entertainment world at EntertainmentMicroscope.blogspot.com.
Wednesdays: An inside look at my
novels (such as Daughters of Darkwana, which you can now find on Kindle) at
Darkwana.blogspot.com
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