All The Women Who Are Independent... Throw Your Hands Up At Me
Elodie is an intelligent young woman, despite denied an education. As a young lady, her biological father passed away, survived by his daughter and destitute young widow. Elodie is isolated from her community and although is forsaken by her abusive stepfather, reluctantly accepts the position of servitude. An ancient sorceress befelled by her young apprentice, monstrous creations arisen from the land and a small community encompassed in folklore.
Returning to the small ramshackle cottage, Aleida Blackbone tenaciously liberated the Lilsfield community from the subordination of Gyssha, a malevolent crone pleasured by consuming the small town. Fiercely independent, the confrontation has diminished the once apprentice to an ailing woman needing assistance to endure the forthcoming catastrophe. The apparitional cavalrymen.
Elodie and Aleida are contrasting characters. Aleida is assured, confident and perceptive. An apprentice to Gyssha as a young woman, exploiting her humanity to ensure her compliance. Elodie and Aleida have experienced a callous manipulation, remarkably similar as they find solace within their tentative companionship.
I Don't Want No Scrubs
Although Elodie is enchanted by local huntsman Kian, neither Elodie or Aleida are interested in pursuing a romantic relationship. On occasion entrusting neighbour Attwater for assistance. Aleida is independent, inspiring Elodie to discover her own bravery and heroism, becoming Aleida's caregiver during her recovery. A Curse of Ash and Embers reiterates that female characters are individuals and independent, unreliant on male characters or masculinity to further their own narrative.
On her journey, Elodie encounters a young magician. Although charming and eccentric, he abandons his travelling companions rather peculiarly, perplexing why his character was introduced within the narrative.
Legends And Folklore
The Lilsfield folklore is captivating. The monstrous automatons created from the fertile earth, Laurel the dryad and her companion Attwater, the apparitional warlocks and the Blackbone legacy. The atmospheric Black Oak Cottage creates a foreboding whimsicality, enchanting and captivating throughout the narrative of sixteen year old Elodie.
We are the eye of the storm. We are the darkness behind the stars. We are the glare of the sun, and nothing touches us unless we let it.
A Curse of Ash and Embers is a charismatic narrative of enchantment and folklore, of independent women and shared experiences. Wonderfully characterised, beautifully illustrated and emphatically captivating.