Inspiration from our Clownfish in The Mage War Chronicles
I haven’t made it a secret that I’m currently writing book three in The Mage War Chronicles, or that the story is set largely underwater. The main character, Seren, is a Sevanni mage; his people are an aquatic species with human ancestry (the how and why of that is covered in the book.)
What most people don’t know is that I drew some inspiration for the Sevanni people based on the biology of our clownfish. We have two, a male and female pair, who reside in our aquarium’s anemone – when they’re not chasing the other fish away from it.
The female is almost twice the size of her male counterpart, and she constantly harasses him. She’ll chase him, nip at him, and steal his food in an attempt to keep him small. (Like many fish species, clownfish can switch genders. In their case, once a male reaches a certain size, he’ll become female, so in order to keep her mate male, the female resorts to harassment. And yes, Finding Nemo got that wrong. In nature, Marlin would have grown and become Marlina as the dominant fish in the anemone.)
Anyway, back to the Sevanni. Since they’re aquatic, and since our clownfish are available for observation any time I need to do “research”, I used certain aspects of their biology to inspire parts of the Sevanni people.
As I mentioned at the start, the Sevanni had human ancestors. They are not merpeople, merfolk, or any similar term. They’re humans, adapted to have webbed hands, elongated feet/fins for better swimming, and gills. There are no fish scales on them (unless it’s part of their clothing.) But a large portion of their society was inspired by the interactions of our clownfish.
Amongst the Sevanni, the females are nearly twice the height of males and physically stronger. The females take on the roles of warriors and protectors, while the males are considered weaker—and valuable. As the story progresses, it’s revealed why the males are so protected, but it’s a bit of a spoiler so I’m not going to go into details here. Let’s just say our main character isn’t happy with his lot in life, befriends a woman willing to help him escape his fate, and journeys to Far Colony where he becomes a mage.
Sevanni society is run by a select group of females who call themselves the Circle. They are responsible for the laws that so frustrate Seren. Like the clownfish, many of the female Sevanni antagonize their male counterparts in order to keep them submissive and obedient. Also like the clownfish, it’s the female who chooses her partner(s), rather than it being the other way around. (Unlike the clownfish, the Sevanni aren’t capable of biologically switching genders—human ancestry, remember—so the comparison stops there.)
Luckily for Seren, he meets Aila. She thoroughly disagrees with many of the Circle’s edicts, which is why she agrees to help him. Aila’s an idealist and might be considered naïve by some, but she genuinely wants to make life better for the men of her people.
If you’ve read the synopses I’ve posted for books one and two in the series, you’re probably wondering how in hell this third book fits in with the other stories. Don’t worry—it does. Seren may even have a run in or two with Helene Macen, and he’ll definitely encounter at least one of the dragon-magi. Yes, his story connects to the others, but you’ll have to read a while before it happens.
If you’d like to learn more about The Mage War Chronicles, I have some information on books 1 and 2 here: The Mage War Chronicles series page