This page provides information and commentary specifically about the novel Gestern Keep and CONTAINS SPOILERS. Read with caution.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Gestern • Alchemy • Alrune Mandragora • Araciel • The Erl King • Hubert Naich • Sebastiano da Napoli • Father Völker • Wolves
Gestern: I imagine this being a very small little mountainous country between Germany and what is now northern Italy, with a mix of cultures and traditions.
Alchemy: Alchemy might have been practiced literally, as changing lead into gold, but many interpret alchemy more metaphysically, as refining the human spirit. The Gesterns practiced a bit of both, and of course Araciel may be advisor, assistant, and subject in this case. When I wrote this, it was a lot harder to find information — no Google and definitely no AI to provide information at once — so this is another area where I’d want to inspect my terminology and usage more closely were I to revisit the novel. I’m not particularly conversant in alchemical practices, but I’m sure I know more about them now than I did then.
Alrune Mandragora: A dwarf essentially named “mandrake mandrake” ought to raise some suspicions in readers that he isn’t an everyday human. Mandrakes are, of course, considered magical and poisonous in medieval folklore. I wanted the character to remain unpredictable and readers to be unsure of his motives; like the historical jester his choice of clothing acknowledges, or the historical court dwarf who sometimes served as the confidantes of royalty, Alrune tells sharp truths and makes pointed jokes about the others in Gestern Keep.
Araciel: I’m sure most readers will recognize this as an angelic name; specifically, in the Book of Enoch, it’s one of the names of a fallen Watcher angel. The Watchers — apparently all male, so there’s patriarchy for you — tampered with terrestrial goings-on, most infamously by falling in love with “the daughters of men” and fathering the beings known as Nephilim. Araciel, in particular, fell for revealing secrets about the “signs of the earth” to humans. I chose to interpret this as alchemical practices in this novel.
I am pretty certain I lifted Araciel’s pattern of speech from that of Beelzebub in Steven Brust’s To Reign in Hell, a book I liked so much at the time that I distinctly remember reading it to the end, then turning back to page one and immediately reading it a second time … definitely not something I normally do. I don’t even remember what struck me so much about it anymore, but thank you, Brust, for a novel that for whatever reason really struck a chord in young me.
Araciel is a character I didn’t write then in quite the way I would now. If I ever rewrote this novel, I’d develop the character in some different ways.
The Erl King: The name is, of course, a reference to the alder king or elf king of folklore, as well as to the poem Der Erlkönig. However, I also liken the figure to the Germanic god Tîwaz, possibly Tyr.
Hubert Naich: As I recall, in my reading for this novel, I ran across a mention of a musician who fell into the story’s time period and lifted the name. My apologies to the real Naich, who was neither mute nor a violinist, as far as I know. If I ever rewrite the novel, I’ll likely change the first name a bit to avoid that.
Sebastiano da Napoli: I lived near Naples for a few years, so the character’s name is an acknowledgement of the city. As for the first name, I liked the nickname “Basti,” that’s all. Another character that needs more development and that I’d work on much more were I to ever revisit this novel.
Father Völker: An acknowledgement of the followers of Martin Luther and their tensions with the Catholic Church. It must have been a difficult position for priests who’d been raised by Catholicism but found themselves sympathizing with Luther’s critiques. Perhaps some would see it as a fall from grace, much like that of an angel who found themself sympathizing with humans….
Wolves: I suppose to some extent this is a werewolf novel, although it’s a slightly more historical/pagan version of werewolves than I suppose you’d normally get. Wolves were pretty scary beasts back then, less romanticized than they are today, although I try to keep them a bit more animal than monster here.