Meddi, the seeress of the Eorlingas
When I was thinking about writing this trilogy, set in the undocumented and little-understood ‘true’ Dark Ages, it was Meddi’s character that came to me most forcefully. I had thought she appeared pretty fully formed, but I’ve actually found a very early attempt which doesn’t mention her (it was only about 250 words, admittedly). After that, she evidently developed quite quickly in my mind. Of the two main points of view characters, Meddi and Wærmund, she is the one who was the most different to what I’ve written before, so I was surprised by how strongly she manifested and became ‘real’ to me. I ran a few elements of her character passed a number of trusted early readers. I wanted her to be strong and determined, but also broken and healing from a terrible trauma, a terrible trauma even I can only imagine. But I also didn’t want her to be stereotypical. I needed to make her realistic and both a product of what had happened to her, and also not. Don’t worry, it was a confusing mix for me, too.
Making her a seeress allowed me to give her an influential position amongst her people. But of course, it brought some problems. What sort of seeress should she be? What magiks should she possess? And how to make those more ‘fantastical’ elements work in what was intended as a piece of archaeological fiction (yes, historical, but so much is based on archaeological finds, it seems wrong to misname it).
I am, and no doubt, will always be a ‘pantser’ (someone who doesn’t plan their stories but just writes them – perhaps in many wats somewhat similar to Meddi when she reaches out to communicate with her ‘god’ only I’m reaching out for my muse and a story that plays out on the page). As such, some elements of Meddi’s personality just appeared for me, and others had to be worked at. I was also conscious of not making her too similar to the wonderful Wynflæd in The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles, or indeed, the Wolf Lady, who also features (both of them healers). Yet, a seeress would possess the abilities to tend to the sick. It was tricky to get it just right. It was really only when I heard her words brought to life by her fabulous narrator, Antonia Breamish, that I truly appreciated that Meddi was a creation I could be very satisfied with (you can listen to her below). I believe, and I hope my readers will agree, that she’s fully rounded, entirely understandable, and if she does things we wouldn’t, then we can be sympathetic to what drives her.
The symbolic adorning of her face and hair with chalk or charcoal as she conducts her magiks was based on little more than my imagination, and yet the imagery is stark. She is sometimes cast from shadow, and sometimes from light. She is a character who loves and hates with equal fierceness, and sometimes, her love shows itself in ways that are perhaps more akin to hatred. But she is certainly most critical of herself. She is driven by ambition, and in this final book, I think we see her at her most vulnerable and also at her strongest. Enjoy.
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MJ Porter 