A Guest Post on Arthurian Legends with Ariella Moon. Author of The Amber Elixir - Giveaway

The Amber Elixir

Ariella Moon

(A Two Realms Novella, #1)

Publication date: October 3rd 2017

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Viviane, the new Lady of the Lake and High Priestess of Avalon, accepts a challenge from Merlin unaware her bold actions will have tragic consequences. Two of her priestesses are turned to stone. A forbidden love deserts her. Now alone, she has six young handmaidens to train and protect.

When Morgan le Fay demands assistance with a spell that could change the balance of power in the Two Realms, Viviane refuses her. But what if Morgan’s secret knowledge could restore the stone priestesses? Will an alliance prompt Viviane’s love to return? Or will the gamble cost her all she holds dear?

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A Guest Post by Ariella Moon

Her love and interest in The Aurthurian Legends/Avalon Legends and how her story falls in with other Avalon fictions. 

Truth vs Legend in the Merlin/Arthurian/Avalon tales. 

(I'm a huge fan of these stories)

Hi Jena. Thank you for inviting me to blog on Character Madness and Musings. I’m so glad you are a fan of Arthurian legends and the mysteries of Avalon! 

The Amber Elixir departs from traditional Arthurian tales in that Merlin and Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, are both young adults. Their youth enabled me to explore the heightened emotions of first love, and the sometimes spiteful and/or tragic consequences of unrequited love. 

My fascination with Arthurian lore bloomed with The Mists of Avalon, a television mini-series based on the novel of the same name by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Bradley’s retelling of King Arthur’s legend from the point of view of the women in Arthur’s life tapped into one of my core obsessions: the fate of women, priestesses, and the Goddess when Christianity and pagan religions collided. 

A tradition I carried forward from The Mists of Avalon was to show the humanity in Viviane and Morgan le Fay. Both are healers, but they are also powerful, ambitious, magical, and flawed women. 

In the early medieval legends, Viviane (also known as Nimuë) and Morgan le Fay were depicted as benign healers. Magical. Innocent. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur (Death of Arthur), for example, a besotted Merlin relentlessly pursued the Lady of the Lake. To protect herself and retaliate, she became Merlin’s apprentice. Then, as soon as she was able, the Lady of the Lake safeguarded herself by turning Merlin’s magic against him and imprisoning him. But in later medieval and Victorian versions, Viviane and Morgan le Fay are depicted as corrupt symbols of temptation and ruination. Femme fatales. The blame for Merlin’s imprisonment and Arthur’s death are placed on them. 

That never made sense to me. 

Legend holds that Viviane and Morgan were among the three queens that escorted the dead (or dying) Arthur to Avalon. There, on the enchanted isle, Arthur was either buried or placed in a state of eternal slumber. Sounds like the act of strong magical healers, not evil temptresses, wouldn’t you agree? 

I always wondered. What kind of magic would revive Arthur when his country needed him most? Was the magic inherent in Avalon’s soil? Or would the enchantment come from the Lady of the Lake and Morgan le Fay? 

Clues await in The Amber Elixir.

About the Author

Ariella Moon draws upon her experiences as a shaman and former teen to create magical Young Adult fiction. Her series include The Two Realms Trilogy, a medieval Scotland and Fairy fantasy adventure, and The Teen Wytche Saga, a series of sweet contemporary paranormal romances. Moon’s “Covert Hearts” appears in Second Chances: A Romance Writers of America Collection.

Ms. Moon spent her childhood flying to rooftops in her dreams and searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia. Extreme math anxiety and taller students who mistook her for a leaning post, marred her youth. Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis. She lives a nearly normal life doting on her extraordinary daughter, two shamelessly spoiled dogs, and a media-shy dragon.

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