The Darkangel
(1982-1990, Ages 13 and Up)
7/6/18
I have a rule of thumb regarding creatures of lore: the more versatile the creature, the more interesting I tend to find them. I really do like it when such beings are re-imagined, re-adapted, and/or placed in scenarios less than traditional for them in order to create new stories, so long as it’s artistically refreshing or though-provoking and not completely stupid. It goes without saying that one of the most common creatures to which countless authors have tried to do this very thing—with varying degrees of success—is the vampire. In a Modern Fantasy course I took at LSC back in the Fall of 2007, I studied the horror novel Necroscope by Brian Lumley. Though ultimately not a personal favorite, I still found it very intriguing in how it portrayed a classic monster I was familiar with in a way that meshed very well with its 20th century setting, changing its vampire just enough to make it feel original while at the same time staying faithful to the “source material”, so to speak. And so, for my Midterm assignment, I decided to write about how vampires have been portrayed in more recent fiction. As luck would have it, I found this YA fantasy series literally just in time for me to start developing my essay. And the world of this vampire was far more unique then I could have imagined.
Aeriel, a young slave girl from the land of Terrain, is burning for revenge after her mistress and friend, Eoduin, is kidnapped by a vampyre in order to become his new bride. Upon confronting him, she naturally proves no match for him, and is taken away to be a servant to his thirteen “wives”, skeletal mummy-like wraiths that have all lost their blood, hearts, and souls to the vampyre—and one of which is the ill-fated Eoduin. But in spite of her grief, Aeriel can’t help but be enamored by the godlike beauty that masks the vampyre’s cruelty, and intrigued by the spark of goodness and vulnerability she sees in him. She comes to learn that the vampyre is, in fact, not yet a true darkangel. Only when he takes one last bride, his fourteenth, will his “mother”, a lorelei or water demon known as the White Witch, take the souls he will offer her in tribute and complete his transformation. Though horrified by this knowledge, Aeriel finds herself torn between her mission to stop the lorelei, and her growing feelings for the vampyre. And even if she is able to save his humanity and his soul without taking his life, Aeriel will still need no less than the power of her world’s sorcerer gods in order to fight the White Witch and her other six vampyre “sons” before they gain the power to spread their eternal darkness and blight across the realm.
As mentioned, the primary monster of this story will be very familiar to most readers in design and temperament, yet not so much so that it can’t count as an original creation. Besides “vampyre” and “darkangel”, this creature has a third name: icarus. In the famous Greek myth, Daedelus made Icarus, his son, a set of wings out of feathers and wax so that he may fly. Pierce’s icarus’ wings are similarly made with the feathers of demonic black birds, magically “sewn” onto him by the lorelei. I love her description of how, when not in flight, the vampyre’s wings drape over his shoulders like a cloak, adding a regal touch to his already divine appearance; not unlike, incidentally, the eponymous heroes of Disney’s Gargoyles series. The beauty of this beast is just as alien but far more treacherous. A striking contrast of cold, dead white and all-consuming darkness, the icarus has the appearance of a fair youth with pale skin, platinum silver hair, and eyes the color of ice, while his wings and clothes are so pitch-black as to give off no sheen, swallowing any and all light that shines upon them.
Pierce puts one other innovative twist on the vampire, as well as on many of the other beings here. The spelling of their names is changed just slightly in order to further differentiate them from their more traditional counterparts. Some examples are simple, like the replacing of “i” with “y” in “vampyre” and “lyon”, and “ph” with “f” in “sfinx”; others are more elaborate, like “duarough” (instead of “dwarf”). On the surface, it’s a small change, and yet it’s incredible how much more exotic it makes the characters and the universe they live in feel.
And speaking of universes, The Darkangel takes place in an alternate reality in which the moon has been terraformed, made habitable to organic matter and living creatures; and the “moon-like” celestial body called Oceanus is implied to be planet Earth. Easily one of this world’s most spectacular sites—and one of my favorites—is the Sea-of-Dust, so-named because the particles that comprise it are so fine that together they surge and flow just like water. Yet they are also stunningly vibrant, as if trillions upon trillions of precious stones have all been crushed into a fluid rainbow of sand, each wave a new color more dazzling than the last.
According to Pierce, the idea for The Darkangel came to her after she read about a dream recounted to Carl Jung, the renowned Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and founder of analytical psychology. Even in a world as fantastic as this, our protagonist, Aeriel, is no less human than we are, fears and flaws included. In spite of—or perhaps because of—the deadly situation she finds herself in, she has to make a conscious effort to face her enemies and conquer her fears, no matter how grotesque or horrifying. This makes her a compelling foil for many of the other characters she encounters, like the vampyre. Most vampires have traditionally been painted as suave and arrogant by nature; the vampyre Aeriel contends with, though he is both of these things, harbors a surprising childishness underneath his evil, made all the more apparent beside Aeriel’s quiet thoughtfulness and uncertainty. This opens the opportunity, even within such a dangerous and unnatural master/servant relationship, for something that could almost be described as bonding:
“‘I shall tell you the tale of the Maiden-Eater,’ she told him, and began. The tale was a long one, about a kingdom besieged by a dragon and the king’s daughter who slew it and the young hero who helped her. The vampyre laughed outright when she came to describing the wyrm.
‘Big as a cottage?’ he cried at last. ‘With wings? It is evident that you have never seen a firedrake.’ [. . .] The icarus folded his arms and leaned back, looking down on her, his lips curled in contempt. ‘No mere mortal could have killed one single-handed.’
‘Her sword was magic,’ said Aeriel.
‘The dragon would have killed them both long before she could have used it.’
Aeriel looked at the ground. ‘You have seen dragons, my lord.’
‘Oh yes. My mother keeps a pair as pets.’
Aeriel looked at him. ‘Your mother?’ she said. The word sounded strange from his tongue.
His lips twisted again into a smile. ‘I do have a mother,’ he said. ‘How did you suppose I came to be?’ His tone was amused and had no kindness in it. Aeriel dropped her eyes and mumbled something. The icarus pursed his lips a moment, and his look grew farther away. ‘She is very beautiful, my mother.’
Aeriel let another moment go by before she spoke. ‘What is her name?’ she ventured at last.
‘And how would I know that?’ replied the vampyre, affronted. ‘Great personages such as she do not hand out their names so freely.’
‘But you are her son,’ insisted Aeriel, softly.
The vampyre looked suddenly away, and for the first time his cool assurance flagged. ‘She will tell me . . . ,’ he began. ‘She has promised to tell me – when I come of age.’
‘And is she . . . like you?’ asked Aeriel, wondering what sort of being mothered vampyres. His hesitation had surprised her.
‘You mean a winged icarus?’ he asked, regaining himself, and flexing his coal-dark feathers. They rustled like fine, stiff silk. ‘No, she prefers water to air. She is a lorelai.’
‘And she keeps dragons.’
‘Yes.’ [. . .]” (The Darkangel, Pg. 69-70)
To borrow a concept from Joseph Campbell, what makes Aeriel such an endearing and relatable character is her very human wish to “refuse of the call to adventure.” All she really wants is acceptance and love, both from others and within herself, and only by enduring many hardships can she ever hope to achieve this; and even then there is no guarantee that she actually will. Throughout the story, Aeriel receives marvelous gifts and abilities to help her in her quest. As a result, many people, especially the dangerously superstitious ones, begin to see her as a powerful sorceress comparable even to a god. But this only serves to make Aeriel feel increasingly alienated and discouraged rather than confident:
“[The gargoyle] snarled, doglike, and snapped. It was all over one even shade of grey: even its eyes and teeth and tongue were grey. Its shabby, matted fur stood on end. A collar of yellow metal encircled its throat.
Aeriel gazed upon it from the hearth. She felt her heart contract. Beside her, Nat shrank against Galnor. Just then the Beast caught sight of Aeriel, its grey eyes wild and wide. It padded toward her.
Those in its path shrank away from it. Some held daggers, but none dared strike. Aeriel half rose, put her bandolyn from her. She could see the creature’s skeletal ribs, ridges of spine along its back. Her knees gave way.
‘Greyling,’ she whispered. ‘Greyling – first gargoyle ever I tamed. What has become of you? You are all bone beneath the skin.’
For a moment, the gargoyle stared at her, lips pulled back from its broken teeth, tongue loose and lolling. It panted hoarsely. Its tattered ears lay flat against the skull. Aeriel held out her arms to it.
[. . .]
The Beast bellied down before her on the floor. It crept forward, a strange whine gibbering from its throat. Its curved claws scattered the rushes, scathed the floorboards underfoot. The creature reached her knees. Aeriel bent to stroke it as the grey Beast laid its huge and grisly head upon her lap.
[. . .]
‘A sorceress!’ someone whispered then. ‘The storier’s a witch. See how she has charmed the Beast.’
Aeriel did not look up, was aware of the inn guests shifting uneasily, of Nat staring from Galnor’s arms. The bandits of Arl gazed upon her in outright rage. Aeriel stroked the gargoyle’s heavy, strange head, fingered its matted, thin fur.
‘What has become of you?’ she murmured again. ‘You do not look as though you have tasted food since you left me. Eat this.’ She reached into her pack.
‘More sorceries,’ a woman cried. ‘What’s that in her hand?’
‘A jewel.’
‘A dagger – ’
[. . .]
Aeriel dusted the fine fuzz from the apricok, held it out. The gargoyle ate eagerly, almost desperately, strained to swallow against the collar about its throat. Its grey tongue slavered, catching the runnels of blood-colored juice. [. . .]
[. . .]
‘Witchery,’ she heard someone muttering. Another voice, across the room, half shouted, ‘She will charm us all.’
Aeriel looked up then, saw people fall back as she raised her eyes. The hard faces of the Arlish bandits made her skin creep. The gargoyle stared at them, lip twitching into a snarl.
‘Come, Greyling,’ she murmured. ‘I do not like our company. Let’s begone.’” (A Gathering of Gargoyles, Pg. 76-78)
Aeriel wishes only for inner peace, yet not only is she confronted with forces greater than anything she could ever hope to understand, but many of those she would save would rather worship and fear her than befriend and love her. Sacrifice is one of the central themes of this story: sometimes even something as powerful as love can be reduced to a simple hindrance in the face of doing what is best for the world. Is it a sign of truer love to care for the happiness of another, or to ensure the continued existence of creation itself?
To take one magical creature and place it into an nontraditional setting for the sake of a story—and do it well—is no simple feat. To do this with a myriad of creatures in a setting whose theoretical roots stem from science fiction—and do it marvelously—is a sure sign of master storytelling. And all this while crafting a tale of devotion, loss, personal growth, and the finding of one’s identity. Such is the splendor of The Darkangel. Whether you come for the heroine’s journey, the vampyre’s bite, or the moon’s magic, there is something here to stir the imagination of many a fantasy fan.
CREDITS:
All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.
All book excerpts are from The Darkangel and A Gathering of Gargoyles by Meredith Ann Pierce (published by Little, Brown and Company).
MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund
Aeriel, a young slave girl from the land of Terrain, is burning for revenge after her mistress and friend, Eoduin, is kidnapped by a vampyre in order to become his new bride. Upon confronting him, she naturally proves no match for him, and is taken away to be a servant to his thirteen “wives”, skeletal mummy-like wraiths that have all lost their blood, hearts, and souls to the vampyre—and one of which is the ill-fated Eoduin. But in spite of her grief, Aeriel can’t help but be enamored by the godlike beauty that masks the vampyre’s cruelty, and intrigued by the spark of goodness and vulnerability she sees in him. She comes to learn that the vampyre is, in fact, not yet a true darkangel. Only when he takes one last bride, his fourteenth, will his “mother”, a lorelei or water demon known as the White Witch, take the souls he will offer her in tribute and complete his transformation. Though horrified by this knowledge, Aeriel finds herself torn between her mission to stop the lorelei, and her growing feelings for the vampyre. And even if she is able to save his humanity and his soul without taking his life, Aeriel will still need no less than the power of her world’s sorcerer gods in order to fight the White Witch and her other six vampyre “sons” before they gain the power to spread their eternal darkness and blight across the realm.
As mentioned, the primary monster of this story will be very familiar to most readers in design and temperament, yet not so much so that it can’t count as an original creation. Besides “vampyre” and “darkangel”, this creature has a third name: icarus. In the famous Greek myth, Daedelus made Icarus, his son, a set of wings out of feathers and wax so that he may fly. Pierce’s icarus’ wings are similarly made with the feathers of demonic black birds, magically “sewn” onto him by the lorelei. I love her description of how, when not in flight, the vampyre’s wings drape over his shoulders like a cloak, adding a regal touch to his already divine appearance; not unlike, incidentally, the eponymous heroes of Disney’s Gargoyles series. The beauty of this beast is just as alien but far more treacherous. A striking contrast of cold, dead white and all-consuming darkness, the icarus has the appearance of a fair youth with pale skin, platinum silver hair, and eyes the color of ice, while his wings and clothes are so pitch-black as to give off no sheen, swallowing any and all light that shines upon them.
Pierce puts one other innovative twist on the vampire, as well as on many of the other beings here. The spelling of their names is changed just slightly in order to further differentiate them from their more traditional counterparts. Some examples are simple, like the replacing of “i” with “y” in “vampyre” and “lyon”, and “ph” with “f” in “sfinx”; others are more elaborate, like “duarough” (instead of “dwarf”). On the surface, it’s a small change, and yet it’s incredible how much more exotic it makes the characters and the universe they live in feel.
And speaking of universes, The Darkangel takes place in an alternate reality in which the moon has been terraformed, made habitable to organic matter and living creatures; and the “moon-like” celestial body called Oceanus is implied to be planet Earth. Easily one of this world’s most spectacular sites—and one of my favorites—is the Sea-of-Dust, so-named because the particles that comprise it are so fine that together they surge and flow just like water. Yet they are also stunningly vibrant, as if trillions upon trillions of precious stones have all been crushed into a fluid rainbow of sand, each wave a new color more dazzling than the last.
According to Pierce, the idea for The Darkangel came to her after she read about a dream recounted to Carl Jung, the renowned Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and founder of analytical psychology. Even in a world as fantastic as this, our protagonist, Aeriel, is no less human than we are, fears and flaws included. In spite of—or perhaps because of—the deadly situation she finds herself in, she has to make a conscious effort to face her enemies and conquer her fears, no matter how grotesque or horrifying. This makes her a compelling foil for many of the other characters she encounters, like the vampyre. Most vampires have traditionally been painted as suave and arrogant by nature; the vampyre Aeriel contends with, though he is both of these things, harbors a surprising childishness underneath his evil, made all the more apparent beside Aeriel’s quiet thoughtfulness and uncertainty. This opens the opportunity, even within such a dangerous and unnatural master/servant relationship, for something that could almost be described as bonding:
“‘I shall tell you the tale of the Maiden-Eater,’ she told him, and began. The tale was a long one, about a kingdom besieged by a dragon and the king’s daughter who slew it and the young hero who helped her. The vampyre laughed outright when she came to describing the wyrm.
‘Big as a cottage?’ he cried at last. ‘With wings? It is evident that you have never seen a firedrake.’ [. . .] The icarus folded his arms and leaned back, looking down on her, his lips curled in contempt. ‘No mere mortal could have killed one single-handed.’
‘Her sword was magic,’ said Aeriel.
‘The dragon would have killed them both long before she could have used it.’
Aeriel looked at the ground. ‘You have seen dragons, my lord.’
‘Oh yes. My mother keeps a pair as pets.’
Aeriel looked at him. ‘Your mother?’ she said. The word sounded strange from his tongue.
His lips twisted again into a smile. ‘I do have a mother,’ he said. ‘How did you suppose I came to be?’ His tone was amused and had no kindness in it. Aeriel dropped her eyes and mumbled something. The icarus pursed his lips a moment, and his look grew farther away. ‘She is very beautiful, my mother.’
Aeriel let another moment go by before she spoke. ‘What is her name?’ she ventured at last.
‘And how would I know that?’ replied the vampyre, affronted. ‘Great personages such as she do not hand out their names so freely.’
‘But you are her son,’ insisted Aeriel, softly.
The vampyre looked suddenly away, and for the first time his cool assurance flagged. ‘She will tell me . . . ,’ he began. ‘She has promised to tell me – when I come of age.’
‘And is she . . . like you?’ asked Aeriel, wondering what sort of being mothered vampyres. His hesitation had surprised her.
‘You mean a winged icarus?’ he asked, regaining himself, and flexing his coal-dark feathers. They rustled like fine, stiff silk. ‘No, she prefers water to air. She is a lorelai.’
‘And she keeps dragons.’
‘Yes.’ [. . .]” (The Darkangel, Pg. 69-70)
To borrow a concept from Joseph Campbell, what makes Aeriel such an endearing and relatable character is her very human wish to “refuse of the call to adventure.” All she really wants is acceptance and love, both from others and within herself, and only by enduring many hardships can she ever hope to achieve this; and even then there is no guarantee that she actually will. Throughout the story, Aeriel receives marvelous gifts and abilities to help her in her quest. As a result, many people, especially the dangerously superstitious ones, begin to see her as a powerful sorceress comparable even to a god. But this only serves to make Aeriel feel increasingly alienated and discouraged rather than confident:
“[The gargoyle] snarled, doglike, and snapped. It was all over one even shade of grey: even its eyes and teeth and tongue were grey. Its shabby, matted fur stood on end. A collar of yellow metal encircled its throat.
Aeriel gazed upon it from the hearth. She felt her heart contract. Beside her, Nat shrank against Galnor. Just then the Beast caught sight of Aeriel, its grey eyes wild and wide. It padded toward her.
Those in its path shrank away from it. Some held daggers, but none dared strike. Aeriel half rose, put her bandolyn from her. She could see the creature’s skeletal ribs, ridges of spine along its back. Her knees gave way.
‘Greyling,’ she whispered. ‘Greyling – first gargoyle ever I tamed. What has become of you? You are all bone beneath the skin.’
For a moment, the gargoyle stared at her, lips pulled back from its broken teeth, tongue loose and lolling. It panted hoarsely. Its tattered ears lay flat against the skull. Aeriel held out her arms to it.
[. . .]
The Beast bellied down before her on the floor. It crept forward, a strange whine gibbering from its throat. Its curved claws scattered the rushes, scathed the floorboards underfoot. The creature reached her knees. Aeriel bent to stroke it as the grey Beast laid its huge and grisly head upon her lap.
[. . .]
‘A sorceress!’ someone whispered then. ‘The storier’s a witch. See how she has charmed the Beast.’
Aeriel did not look up, was aware of the inn guests shifting uneasily, of Nat staring from Galnor’s arms. The bandits of Arl gazed upon her in outright rage. Aeriel stroked the gargoyle’s heavy, strange head, fingered its matted, thin fur.
‘What has become of you?’ she murmured again. ‘You do not look as though you have tasted food since you left me. Eat this.’ She reached into her pack.
‘More sorceries,’ a woman cried. ‘What’s that in her hand?’
‘A jewel.’
‘A dagger – ’
[. . .]
Aeriel dusted the fine fuzz from the apricok, held it out. The gargoyle ate eagerly, almost desperately, strained to swallow against the collar about its throat. Its grey tongue slavered, catching the runnels of blood-colored juice. [. . .]
[. . .]
‘Witchery,’ she heard someone muttering. Another voice, across the room, half shouted, ‘She will charm us all.’
Aeriel looked up then, saw people fall back as she raised her eyes. The hard faces of the Arlish bandits made her skin creep. The gargoyle stared at them, lip twitching into a snarl.
‘Come, Greyling,’ she murmured. ‘I do not like our company. Let’s begone.’” (A Gathering of Gargoyles, Pg. 76-78)
Aeriel wishes only for inner peace, yet not only is she confronted with forces greater than anything she could ever hope to understand, but many of those she would save would rather worship and fear her than befriend and love her. Sacrifice is one of the central themes of this story: sometimes even something as powerful as love can be reduced to a simple hindrance in the face of doing what is best for the world. Is it a sign of truer love to care for the happiness of another, or to ensure the continued existence of creation itself?
To take one magical creature and place it into an nontraditional setting for the sake of a story—and do it well—is no simple feat. To do this with a myriad of creatures in a setting whose theoretical roots stem from science fiction—and do it marvelously—is a sure sign of master storytelling. And all this while crafting a tale of devotion, loss, personal growth, and the finding of one’s identity. Such is the splendor of The Darkangel. Whether you come for the heroine’s journey, the vampyre’s bite, or the moon’s magic, there is something here to stir the imagination of many a fantasy fan.
CREDITS:
All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.
All book excerpts are from The Darkangel and A Gathering of Gargoyles by Meredith Ann Pierce (published by Little, Brown and Company).
MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund
EPISODE SONGS:
“Cloak of Night” - Briand Morrison
“Cloak of Night” - Briand Morrison
“Exotic Planet” - Briand Morrison
“Alone” - Briand Morrison
Download the full 15-minute episode here!
The Darkangel on Wikipedia
Meredith Ann Pierce on Wikipedia
Meredith Ann Pierce's Official Website
The Darkangel on Goodreads
Meredith Ann Pierce on Goodreads
The Darkangel on Tv Tropes
Buy The Darkangel at Barnes & Noble
Buy The Darkangel on Amazon
Buy The Darkangel on Ebay
Buy The Darkangel at Thriftbooks
^^ Back to Books, Graphic Novels, and Other Works of Literature
The Darkangel on Wikipedia
Meredith Ann Pierce on Wikipedia
Meredith Ann Pierce's Official Website
The Darkangel on Goodreads
Meredith Ann Pierce on Goodreads
The Darkangel on Tv Tropes
Buy The Darkangel at Barnes & Noble
Buy The Darkangel on Amazon
Buy The Darkangel on Ebay
Buy The Darkangel at Thriftbooks
^^ Back to Books, Graphic Novels, and Other Works of Literature