» Background Info on Djinn, Spirits, Magic...
This is what Jonathan has to say on the magical research he did for the books:
The magic and spirits in the book are a mix of stuff that I invented and things that I pinched from folklore, myth and legend. I suppose it could be possible to invent an entirely new magical system, but it would be astonishingly hard. For instance, Tolkien, who is revered for the completeness and originality of his world, nicked masses himself from Northern myths and legends especially. In practise any writer of fantasy is going to use certain concepts that have been handed down, firstly from oral tradition and then more recent literary works. The key is: is he/she going to be able to infuse them with something original? If not, it will seem at best a bit hackneyed. So a writer must walk a fine line - borrow things where appropriate, but give it something new as well. I have read a lot about these subjects over the years, and I had reference books about when I was writing, but I was careful not to over-research - the danger there is that you lose all spontenaity. If you look at the magic in my book there isn't much detail about the mechanics of it, because that's not the interesting thing to me. I'm interested in the characters and the implications of the master/servant relationship.
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Jabor, with his jackal head is influenced by the Egyptian god Anubis.
So, here you can read about the original mythology and ideas that Jonathan adopted and changed for his books.
Origins of the Idea of Djinni/Spirits | Roles in mythology | Roles in the real world
Origins of the Idea of Djinni/Spirits
- Lilith
- Before God created Eve, he created another woman to be the first wife of Adam: Lilith. Although created as a human by God, ancient legends tell of her being born a demon and bearing various monsters and demons. Many were invisible, but always opposed to humankind. They could also be provoked by certain acts of a human individual. Some demons, although invisible, chose to manifest themselves in visible ways. The most common form of these demons were djinn.
- Al-Haddin/Aladinn
- Perhaps the story of Aladinn in One Thousand and One Nights is based on an older Arab tale, whose hero is al-Haddin, and who fought djinn, who in the story were disembodied demons that kicked up small dust storms. They inhabited deserts and gloomy valleys.
- Iblis, Lord and Master of the Djinn
- The story of Iblis parallels that of Lucifer—he refused to bow down to the creations of Allah and was cast out of Heaven along with other angels. He/they became creatures of wind, fire, and smoke, called djinn, and Iblis became the Lord and Master of the djinn.
Roles in mythology
- Afrits
- An afrit is a powerful evil spirit or gigantic and monstrous demon in Arabic mythology. An afreet is often another name for a djinn, sometimes for similar entities. They like to lurk in large stretches of wilderness and frighten travelers with eerie sounds. Also spelled afreet, ifreet, ifrit, efreet. Afrits in common mythology are spirits that embody fire. They consider themselves superior to all races because they supposedly "came first," and they resent deeply that humans have found magical ways to take control over them. Even when tasked, they show an ironic and malicious attitude, tending to subvert their masters' orders every time they can. They often appear as individuals of superhuman beauty and strength, but are very difficult to deal with. They also appear in the Qu'ran and The Arabic Nights.
- Anubis
- Jabor is based on the jackal-headed Egyptian Lord of the Underworld, Anubis, or Anpu. Anubis was a stern judge who evaluated the souls of the dead. He precided over the Kingdom of the Dead and had legions of cadavers to carry out his intructions and take vengeance on those who failed to show him the proper respect.
- Golems
- Coming soon
Roles in the real world
- Prague, Alchemy, and Golden Lane
- Coming soon
- Amulets
- Coming soon
- Coptic
- Coming soon
- Samarkand
- Coming soon
- The Ptolemy Dynasty
- Coming soon