Olga, you are a wonderful fantasy author and we know that your fans are jumping to see whom you have brought with you today.
Thank you, Kylee, for inviting me. I’m not sure anyone is really jumping but maybe someone is fidgeting a bit, impatient to learn more about Eriale.
Can you tell us a little about Eriale?
Eriale is the heroine from my novel Almost Adept. She seventeen, but she is a very powerful mage. Magic defines her. Unfortunately, she is awkward in social situations, has no real world experience, and no close friends. All her life, she was sheltered and loved by her family. She dedicated all her time to studying magic and reading books. She was a progeny, nurtured by her mentor and spoiled by her parents. Now, she is thrust into the real world, among real people. It is a challenge for her.
Her appearance: short, slim, with long dark hair and light gray eyes. I tried to find an image of Eriale in classical paintings. When that failed, I wanted to find a modern actress who would fit Eriale’s portrait in my mind. That didn’t work either, but eventually I found her on www.deviantart.com.
This picture is by Esmira, a talented Russian artist, and it comes the closest to how I see Eriale, even though the artist’s probably never heard of me or my story. Eriale is pictured with a pony, which is another coincidence. I have a short story about Eriale and a pony, a sort of a prequel to the novel. I wrote it before the novel. The story is currently available for free at: https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3249040/1/Pony-Exchange Eriale, what is it like in the world you come from?
I live in the kingdom of Varelia. It’s beautiful, all green, although our kingdom is smaller than many others, and we don’t have access to the sea. We’re in the middle of the continent.
My brother-in-law, King Axelor, is a popular king. The commoners love him; I heard it myself when I sneaked to the marketplace last year. People said that our laws are reasonable and our roads are safe. Of course, they complained about taxes, but who doesn’t?
I’m not a princess, although many courtiers call me ‘Your Highness.’ Axelor’s wife, Queen Tamara, is my half-sister; we have the same father but different mothers, and Tamara is only the queen because she married Axelor. She is much older than I and rather stuffy, always criticizing me. I like Axelor much better.
Another important thing about our world—we have magic. I’m a mage, and so is my father. People in our world use magic for everything: weather adjustment, harvest enrichment, communication, honesty control in gaming houses and in court, building inspections. Father does lots of that for the crown—he is Tamara and Axelor’’s personal mage. He wants to retire and concentrate on his magical school, so he wants me to apply for the Adept license as soon as possible. When I get it, I’ll replace him as the crown’s magician. Tamara wants it too. She thinks she would be able to control me better that way, but I don’t think so. Anyway, I’ll apply for the Adept license when I return home from my current trip.
So, today we will ask some random get-to-know-you questions, and you, Eriale, just have to answer. Sound good?
Yes, sounds interesting. I haven’t been interviewed before. Ask your questions, Kylee.
Good, let’s begin. What motivates you to work hard?
Magic doesn’t tolerate laziness. If I didn’t work hard I wouldn’t be able to control my magic. At my level—the Adept level—that could be a disaster. Besides, I want to earn my father’s trust and respect. His regard is very important to me.
Recently he asked me to do some investigation for the magical guild—he is the guild leader. It’s all hush-hush, I can’t tell you the details, but I had to travel to Grumesh, where things got complicated. You can read this entire story in the book. I became embroidered in Grumesh freedom fighting and I met the most wonderful man, Kealan. Then I discovered a blood mage in Grumesh and had to challenge him to duel. As an Adept, I was the only one who had a chance to defeat him. Blood magic is a rotten business and it can’t be allowed to twist people’s lives. I hope my father will approve of my actions.
If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?
Experiment with magic without danger or distractions. Free-flowing magic, so to speak. I want to create a new spell. Like legendary mages of the past, I want to be the first one to describe a spell. I guess, I’m ambitious that way, but magic brings me so much joy. I want to give the joy back to the world.
What are your hobbies?
I don’t have hobbies—I’ve been too busy all my life. I started learning magic when I was four or five. It takes a lot of time to master the craft of magic, especially as strong as mine. And then I had to have a general education, like any other young lady from a noble family.
When I don’t study and don’t work magic, I read. I like mystery novels. I always think: how could this mystery be solved with magic? More often than not, I do find a solution. I should make a suggestion to the militia to employ mages as crime investigators.
I also like myths and legends. Some of them could be true, while others are a complete fabrication, and I like to separate one from the other. For example, some elven legends talk about another race—Letuns, the winged elves. Nobody has seen a Letun for at least a millennium, but every elf I’ve ever talked to says they exist. Maybe. Somewhere.
On the other end of this scale is a famous saga about a dragon-shifter. He could turn into a human and back at will and he loved a human girl. It’s a beautiful story but it’s definitely fantasy. No mage could repeatedly turn a man into a dragon and back, not even himself. The transformation spell is brutal and requires tons of magical power. Trust me, I know. I practiced this spell on spiders and mice. All the stories of shape-shifters—dragons or wolves or whatever—are just that: stories. No scientific descriptions and no chronicles ever mention one real case of a shape-shifter. The same with vampires—dozens of tales but not one proof that they exist.
Dragons are real though, even if I’ve never seen one. We don’t have dragons here. They live on another continent and they can’t cross the ocean, but sailors sometimes bring their scales or claws as souvenirs. Once they brought a mummified head of a dragon, and it traveled with a freak show. I saw it. It was disgusting. I’d like to see a living dragon. Maybe I should sail to their land. I know dragons have magic, at least some breeds of them do, and I wonder what I could do with their magic. Maybe I could talk to them.
What are your favorite childhood memories?
My magic manifested when I was three. At first, my dad had to be with me always, to control my magic; I was too young to do it myself. I loved traveling with him. Together, we would visit some clients of his. It was before Tamara became Queen. He would discuss a job with a client, and I would play with magical toys on the floor, at his feet. I loved such trips.
Later, when I learned to control my magic, I experimented a lot, tested my limits. Once, when I was about nine, I made my mom’s ball gowns dance by themselves, and I danced with them. We had a ball in my mother’s closet: the gowns and I. We danced a polka. It was tremendous fun, but my mom panicked when she saw it. Of course, dad grounded me. Eventually, I learned the most important lesson: I should never use my magic for pranks or practical jokes. My magic is too strong for that.
And finally, a little bit of a funny question: if you had to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be? And why?
Probably a ferret. Like a ferret, I’m small and skinny, with long hair. Like a ferret, I need to eat a lot. Magic burns energy. As I work magic all the time I constantly need to replenish my energy; I’m always hungry. And like a ferret, I’m smart and fast, at least with my magic.
Thank you for coming out today Eriale, and you as well Olga.
