Inspiration of Mythos

Hi!

Mythology has always been a fascination of mine, but I’m aware not everyone has the same (or any) hyper-fixations! As such, I want to give you a deep dive into my brain and how I created some of the Mythos you can see in Sunrise Between Worlds.

Disclaimers:

First, I am by no means an expert in mythological studies. If you want to learn more, I would suggest researching on your own.

Second, I took many creative liberties with some of these creatures. Mythology itself is a truly intriguing insight into the human mind. Especially at a time prior to the scientific understandings and advancements we have now. Mythological tales, creatures, and gods were often utilized as a way to explain the inexplicable. As such, some of these creatures saw some changes to help them better fit into the world I created! So, again, please don’t read this and think it’s the only way a creature has ever been portrayed. I will always support researching more on your own!

Now, lets dive in!

Please be advised, some of these are spoilers for the book if you haven’t read it!

Guardian

This exact species doesn’t exist in mythology, they are a species I created. As Koa mentions in the book, there are a lot of guardians in Māori culture, but there are guardians across the globe. Cultures everywhere have a some variant of a guardian. For some, dragons where guardians or protectors of gold, for others, spirits protected their kin from the afterlife. There are countless variations of creatures/species with the purpose to protect or guard something.

For this species, I wanted to experiment with the idea of a Mythos existing with a sole purpose—to protect other Mythos. As such, Koa was born. He gets stronger when Mythos are in danger and he’s compelled to do everything he can to save them. 

Fun fact: Koa was the first character that came to my mind with this one. Olivia, you know, the main character? She came after.

Siren

Sirens are very common in Greek mythology where they became infamous for singing hypnotic songs that lured sailors to their deaths. I have my own opinions about how ancient tales often insinuated sirens charmed men into falling in love with them. As mentioned above, mythology was utilized as a means to explain the inexplicable. Appears cheating and/or abandoning one’s family was one such unfathomable detail men of old thought they needed to create an entire species for. (Note: It’s not just sirens, there are countless female creatures who would be seen as home-wreckers today. And each time I find a new one, I lose a bit more faith in humanity.)

BUT! Moving on… Sirens were often said to be half-woman, half-bird (more like a harpy) but as you may have noticed in Sunrise Between Worlds, Bea has no bird qualities to speak of. I chose to make her more mermaid in appearance (something often used in modern media to portray sirens) but her entire body becomes scaled. She does not retain her human upper body. In fact her emotional state is often visible on her arms, chest and neck. To me, an incredibly powerful and epic mythological creature wouldn’t have their entire torso exposed or unprotected. Bea is my fully scaled and armored badass.

Side note: Her ability to shift between human and siren forms also hints at how Mythos might have been living among humans undetected for so long. 

Shadow people

These were born of multiple mythological creatures that fascinated me.

Tariaksuq - from Inuit mythology - are shadow entities that are sometimes said to live in a parallel world of darkness and turn invisible when one looks at them. Some said they were malevolent, trying to lure people to their world of darkness, others said they were protectors watching over us in the places we couldn’t see. 

Sleep demons - there are many depictions of sleep demons from various cultures around the globe. From the Norse Mare (Mara), Mora from Bosnia, Pisadeira from Brazil to countless others, they were a prevalant occurance. Some sat on chests and manipulated dreams (potential early explanations of sleep paralysis) others simply haunted dreams.

Shadow people are a hybrid species that I created to play around with the idea of a living shadow that acts as a waking nightmare in Olivia’s life. I wanted them to be illusive, less humanoid than many others, incapable of communicating and to have a “daunting” appearance. Thus, nightmare shadows were born. They’re scary without having to do much of anything.

And that’s…kinda the point of the whole book - casting judgment on what we don’t understand.

Deeper inspiration: This whole series is an exploration of what I think would happen if Mythos lived alongside us. And let’s be honest, it would be incredibly hard for any other species to live peacefully, especially those that can’t communicate with us. You’ll note in Sunrise Between Worlds, you never learn the motivations of the shadow people. Surprise! That isn’t a plot hole. hahaha. I created them with a solitary thought in mind - the readers get to decide how to feel about them. Olivia, Koa, Bea and Rusand fear/hate them because they’re on the wrong side of their story. But as an external bystander, I genuinely want readers to consider if they were the villains. And no, there isn’t a right answer here, I can see both sides.

Vampire

Arguably the most known and diverse species on this list, variations of vampires exist around the world. Greek Empusae, Caribbean Soucouyant, Filipino Aswangs, Betsileo (a tribe of Madagascar) Ramanga, and the Slavic Wąpirs are just a few of many depictions. In the vast majority they have one common feature; they live off blood.

Rusand has the ability to turn invisible, move at insane speeds, has inhumane strength, can charm or hypnotize, and consumes blood. Decapitation, stakes to the heart, and the sun (eventually) are the ways to kill a vampire in my book. Why? I don’t believe anyone could survive decapitation - not even an immortal being. The heart is the bloodiest organ in the body, poetic that it’d be the one weakness to a creature that sustains itself on blood. And of course, the sun! I toyed around with this one a lot. But to me, it makes sense that an undead creature born of night wouldn’t thrive or even survive where life and light exist. They are the opposite.

Vampires are known, and they have been portrayed in hundreds of ways in modern media. There are so many interpretations of vampires, I’m genuinely not sure if my vampires are the same as any already existing.

Satyr

Originally from Greek mythology, satyrs were often associated with Dionysus (the God of Wine) and were considered spirits of fertility, lust and nature. Adopted by Roman myths (where they became conflated with Pan - God of the Wilderness), satyrs became the half human, half goat creatures that are seen in modern media. Mr. Tumnus from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Grover from Percy Jackson are two very popular ones.

I absolutely ignored the first rendition and utilized the much more ‘nature centric’ version of these species. You’ll note Jono is incredibly empathetic, to the point where he probably shouldn’t be working alongside Koa because that role destroys him. But! He cares too much to leave. Jono is very attuned to emotions and plants. Sadly, my winter setting didn’t get to show off his skills with nature, but his empathy extends to nature, Mythos, and humans.

Centaur

These are Greek creatures with the torso of a human atop the body of a horse. I took inspiration from multiple sources for creating Charly. Chiron is a centaur known for his wisdom and role as a mentor. Other unnamed centaurs were said to be dangerous and unruly. And thus, my surly centaur was born—both wise and dangerous.

Gorgon

The most famous gorgon is Medusa from Greek Mythology. She has a human head with snakes for hair and a lower body of a snake. Some depictions include tusks and wings as well. Some more modern interpretations show Athena (Goddess of Wisdom) punishing (or helping—depends on the story) a beautiful mortal human, Medusa, by making her a monster capable of turning anyone who looked upon her to stone. Other stories omit that story entirely and talk about the three sister gorgons all born that way—Medusa, Steno and Euryale.

You may have noticed Skylar does not have a snake body. She’s my more modern spin on a gorgon in that she’s mostly human, but still has snake hair and can turn people to stone. (And you’ll absolutely be seeing more gorgons in this series.)

Giant

Massive humanoids are often seen in mythology. Sometimes they were massive demons, other times they were neutral creatures that protected gateways. Across multiple cultures, giants were synonymous with natural forces like mountains or volcanoes.

The Slates lean into that natural depiction of giants. They are made of stone, and one with the world around them. 

Hellhound

Most famous is Cerberus from Greek Mythology—the three headed dog that guards Hades. Other cultures had their own versions: Garmr from Norse culture, British and Celtic Black Dogs, Hindu’s Yama Dogs and many more. In each, they were massive dogs that often protected something, usually something in the afterlife or underworld.

Vera and her pack are monstrous dogs that are innate protectors. While there isn’t an underworld in my world, Three Oaks felt like a place worthy of protecting.

Kappa

Originated in Japan, kappas are turtle(sometimes frog)-humanoid creatures the size of a child. They were often used to warn people away from rivers and waterways for they would grab humans and cows alike to drown them. They’re clumsy on land, and can’t stray too far from water because they have a divot in their head that holds water. This water is the source of their power and without it, they’ll become paralyzed. In some stories, if that water runs out, they may die.

I don’t have any named kappas in this story, but I do mention them a few times because I honestly love them. I can’t explain why. I just found them one day and think about them often. Perhaps because a lot of my fascination with mythology is rooted in the why these creatures might exist. And I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why these little guys existed nor why the divot in their heads would play such a large role in their lives!

Unicorn

Greek, Indian and Roman mythology all have a mono-horned horse that many assume was created after sightings of a rhinoceros. They are said to have the ability to heal—specifically by curing disease or purifying poison.

Unicorns in Sunrise Between Worlds can fly but otherwise, they aren’t too different from ancient myths—white horses with a singular spiral horn.

Pegasi

Technically, this is only one creature in mythology. Pegasus—born from the blood of Medusa after Perseus slayed her. This horse was special because of their wings, often referred to as the bridge between earth and the sky—or mortals and the gods.

I made them a whole species because I love the idea of flying horses. That is all. I will not be accepting questions at this time.

Rakshasa

Seen in Hindu, Buddhist, Jian and other traditions, Rakshasa were shape-shifting demons. They were said to be cunning and violent, sometimes disrupting cosmic order or consuming humans. Originally tasked with protecting Earth, but because of their hunger for power and chaos, many turned evil. That said, some remained neutral and others stayed good. Sometimes they appear in lore with tiger/feline heads, other times they have ten heads—this is to say there’s not one depiction that fits all.

They were largely known to be complex, multi-faceted creatures. Even when depicted as villains, most were intelligent and had honorable traits.

Some were sorcerers who had illusion-casting abilities. And thus, my lovely rakshasa make a minor appearance as absolute masterminds of modern media in AdsPlus. I’d imagine their species would have a field day with marketing—both with illusions and their innate desire for chaos.

Kitsune

Japanese mythology gave these creatures their origins. Intelligent, fox creatures that were known for their ability to shape-shift between a fox and a beautiful human and wield fox-fire (phantom flames). Some are mischievous, others protective. Some were given the role of messenger, delivering directly to the gods.

Possibly the coolest aspect of these creatures is their ability to grow up to nine tails. Often their age, power, or wisdom dictated how many tails they’d have—more powerful, more tails.

Many stories also mention them possessing humans while others said they only punished the greedy or arrogant. In other words, they are my kind of creatures. While there is only a tiny mention of them in Sunrise Between Worlds, kitsunes will play a much bigger role in a future book.

Griffin

Sometimes spelled ‘gryphons,’ these creatures were seen in many cultures—Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman to name a few. While their exact features varied, they were all part eagle, part lion. Often associated with nobility, these creatures were widely respected for their strength and bravery. 

Pretty impressive, right? But what about when they are just defenseless, little babies? Meet Finley—my take on a powerful creature bound by their age and size. I also completely made up their ability to bond, but it makes sense to me. Non-verbal creatures might have adapted some form of communication to survive. 

And if you made it this far, you essentially read a novella about my novel. Congrats! And thank you! Sorry for all the tangents, though I did try to warn you in the beginning that this was a deep dive into my brain. It’s a terrifying place to be.

I can promise you’ll see many of these creatures again as well as many new ones in future books. I’ll be sure to make new lists when new books are released!

Lastly, I truly hope you found some of this interesting, maybe even enough to be inspired to research on your own.

Thanks for being you! Have a glorious day!

Freya

PS. One of the benefits of being a tiny, unknown author is that I don’t get thousands of messages. As such, please feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have any questions or your own tidbits to share! This series is planned for five books, so I need a lot more creatures to show off - literally always looking for inspiration!