First off, I’d like to apologize for not posting updates recently; but honestly, I should just put that as a blanket statement at the top of the site because I don’t post updates all that often. Secondly, an update about the status of the audiobook version of The Kanta Chronicles: it’s being recorded and should hopefully be complete by the end of January, to be released to the public by mid-February if all goes well. I can’t wait until everyone gets to hear it, the narrator does a great job of bringing everyone to life, and it’s a weird experience to hear your words brought to life in such a professional manner.

Lastly, I wanted to give you all a bit of a lore update about holidays in the world of Bolfodier. Since we are in the Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanza/Solstice season (sorry if I missed your specific holiday, but let me know for next year/future updates), I thought it would be an appropriate time to let you all in on the secret that Bolfodier does have holidays that every country celebrates. These four days are known as the Element Days, and are the days in which Bolfodier honours the elements that make up all living things: earth, wind, water and fire. On the days after the solstices and equinoxes, each element is honoured, and large feasts are shared among communities as a whole. Water is honoured in the summer, Earth in autumn, Wind in spring and Fire in winter. Depending on the time of year, the feasts will feature different types of foods that are associated with the honoured element. While Lilith, Hados, Nina and Korena aren’t associated with any of these days (although, they probably should be, as there’s one god(dess) for each Element Day), a general sacrifice to them is made by way of an offering given to the honoured element of that day. In winter, a portion of food is burned in the communal fires; summer sees the drowning of the symbolic representation of a month’s fasting (similar to Lent, people give something up for a month and then throw a representation of said thing into a local water source); in spring people write a wish for the year on a piece of paper and go to the highest place in the area and throw the paper into the wind; and during the autumn they bury a sin/greatest shame from the past year (also written on a piece of paper).

While it wasn’t on the top of her list of priorities upon her return to Terang (at the end of the second part of the book), Iselda was determined to have Braria’s currency shift away from gold and towards silver after hearing of the death of Nina. And while her friends and family were equally outraged by the tale of the goddess’ death, and supported her motion to make gold worthless, the idea is ultimately decided against because of gold’s importance to the greater Bolfodier community. Pan and Sabrina both bring up the point to truly have the average citizen disregard gold would be next to impossible without telling them why she was trying to have gold left by the wayside; something everyone realizes is a very dangerous secret that should not be revealed if they wish to keep Hados, Lilith and Korena safe. So, with a heavy heart and a tearful prayer to Korena, Iselda admits defeat on the issue, while resolving to try and have as much gold exchanged from Braria as she can in the remaining years of her reign.

Since this Sunday is Father’s Day, I thought this week’s post would be about how Pan’s decision influenced the way in which his children’s magic worked. And that decision is when Iselda offers him to hold Nikki or Shade first. By his choosing Nikki, Pan created a bond between himself and his daughter (and by extension between his wife and son) that would last until his death. When the four of them first discuss Shade and Nikki’s powers at the end of the second third of the book, the twins mention that Shade has a stronger connection to his mother while Nikki has a stronger one to her father. And that is the direct effect of Pan’s decision to hold Nikki before Shade on the day they were born. Another way this decision influences the magic of the twins is by the strength of its influence. While it might not be directly stated in the book (I’d have to double check, but don’t have the time right now), Nikki’s power is able to read a greater number of people, whereas Shade affects people more strongly with his power.

Here’s some more secrets from the world of Bolfodier, including characters, locations and events mentioned in The Kanta Chronicles.

Though it is regarded as one of the five Romantic Wonders of Bolfodier, Lullaby Falls has a dark past. At the start of time, it was simply a stream that passed through Wealtez into Metalia; but when the man who ripped out Nina’s heart with a gold dagger stumbled upon it and tried to wash the dried blood on his hands in the waters, he unleashed the wrath of Lilith, Hados and Korena. The earth ripped and the waters rushed into their current condition, creating the waterfall and scaring the man away. But after Korena had killed him, she returned to the falls and washed his blood off her hands. As the blood mixed with the water, the harshness with which the water fell stilled until it became the peaceful falls it is today. The red and pink the water turns is not a trick of the light, but the blood of Nina and her killer and the love the god and goddesses of Bolfodier had for Nina.

The time of the Taint was a great source of loss to the world of Bolfodier. Not only did many creatures of magic die (some becoming extinct), but also a great many people gifted with magic, lost this gift. Magic was nearly drained from the world, leaving only a select few with the gift of magic. But the source of what caused this catastrophe is hidden to even the most knowledgeable on the subject. It actually was the hero who sacrificed himself to fix the Taint. When he was just a boy he came across the Cave of Hagan. The Cave of Hagan is a legendary place, similar to the Temple of the Goddess, which was said to have naturally forming restrained magic. And it was two of these that the boy accidentally activated; one that turned the earth into a giant chunk of quillum, and one that froze him in time for nearly half the time of the Taint. Upon his release from the time stop and realizing what he had done, the boy dedicated his life to trying to figure out how he could fix it. It took him about twenty-five years, but he was able to undo all that he could.

Though it is not even hinted at in the book, Pan has a middle name. Besides Pan himself, there is only one person who even knows that he has a middle name, his best friend Shade. His middle name is Griff, and had Shade and Marina’s child been a boy that would have been his name.