By Kayla Matt
Nyx is the caster who appears in Prodigy of Rainbow Tower and is the titular prodigy. Her power is immense and she is a dangerous opponent. Along with this is a temper that she tries to keep in check since a tantrum can take out half a village. Many people have looked at her as a supporting character, but she’s on par with Luke Callindor. In fact, there are times where she’s more of the main character than he is. Her themes are rather interesting and I always hope I do them justice since one or two of them are hard to include without pushing her into ‘the crying woman’ cliche.
Building a Family
Nyx started a theme among the main characters in my book. She began calling Luke her little brother and Sari became her little sister. As an orphan, Nyx had her adopted parents, but she still seeks to surround herself with a makeshift family. Possibly a fear of being alone, which hasn’t come up since nobody has an issue with this. In fact, the other characters find it endearing and use the connections for strength. In this way, Nyx has turned herself into the matriarch of the heroes and the one that all of them would protect above the others. Now, she says that Sari is the heart of the group because the gypsy keeps everyone happy and smiling. If that’s true then Nyx is the soul because her creation of a family is what helps bind these characters too each other. I’m now realizing that this is what I’ll need to work with in the 7th book when the final champion appears and needs to phase into the team dynamic.
Weapon or Woman?
One of the biggest forces in Windemere is Gabriel the God of Destiny. Nyx is one of his special projects and she was born to face a coming darkness. Keep in mind that I said face and not defeat, so it’s not confirmed that she’ll win. Anyway, with Nyx’s incredible power and this finely crafted destiny, she occasionally feels like she’s nothing more than a living weapon. Her desire to make a family stems from this idea because a weapon wouldn’t have loved ones. Still, she has worries about her identity and what others consider her. I’ll admit that it isn’t an in your face issue because it’s a hard one to set off. Her friends don’t talk her like she’s a weapon, so this is more for when Gabriel appears or another character has an unfortunate slip of the tongue.
By Kayla Matt
Life After Destiny
All of the champions are destined to face a coming darkness who is named at the end of Allure of the Gypsies. As previously stated, this doesn’t mean they’ll survive and the heroes are quick to realize this. Nyx actually figured this out before she ever appears in the story, which she reveals is the reason she doesn’t talk about her future. In her mind, she could be nothing more than a cow being led to slaughter. This is a woman with the power to take out an army and she knows there’s a possibility that it might only be so she can die destroying this enemy. You can see Luke talking about life after adventuring and Sari dreaming of wandering the roads, but Nyx requires some prompting. Many times she’ll go along with what the others say to avoid their attempts to cheer her up. The truth is that until a certain character shows up to fluster her, Nyx feels like a dead woman walking and has never given a thought to her life after the final battle. This ends up being a major point for her and I’m still not sure what will happen to her when she begins dreaming of a life after destiny.
Tough for a Caster
This is a minor theme and I’m not sure how to describe it. Some people contact me about how Nyx takes hits and keeps on fighting. Apparently, there’s the idea that a female caster has to go down in one shot. Luke the male warrior can carry on with broken bones, but Nyx has to collapse from a backhand? That’s not in her character. She’s in the fray, so it’s hard for me to rationalize her coming out unscathed or falling so easily. This leads to a few scenes where she’s physically pounded on and she comes back with a vengeance. One scene in Prodigy of Rainbow Tower comes to mind where she’s badly hurt and refuses to give up. Not going to spoil that because it’s one of my favorite scenes and I know a few people who read my blog are reading this. Anyway, I never went along with the fragile caster for Nyx, so she’s going to be taking some major beatings and possibly earn a few scars by the end of this.
Legends of Windemere 
Woman, definitely woman… wait, what was the question?
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Living weapon or a woman, I believe. Being raised on the idea that she’s chosen to face a coming darkness, her mind is very destiny/combat oriented at times. So she has trouble thinking beyond that final battle or getting involved in long-term relationships.
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I think the idea of her wanting a family and being the ‘mother’ figure is awesome. Makes her REAL.
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I definitely like how that came out of her without trying. It’s one of the more uplifting themes I get to carry through the entire series.
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Very nice.
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She sounds like any other woman, to me. We all have scars by the end. 🙂
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True. All of you can wipe out a city when in a bad mood, right?
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Yes, honestly, we can. 😀 I’m sorry about that, too. We can’t help it.
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And you say guys make a mess. Sheesh.
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The one thing we’re not good at is admitting we’re to blame.
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I’ve noticed. 🙂
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😆
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I agree with those who posted. She sounds real. I’m glad you didn’t make her “a fragile caster.” I’ve seen that aspect in other books and it causes me to roll my eyes.
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I’ve had one or two complaints about her being too tough for a caster. Her brawling throws people off. Honestly, I figure she’s manipulating such powerful energies in her body that she has an amazing level of stamina, focus, and resilience.
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Oh, Nyx ! ! She’s also the “villain” in the video game Persona3FES !
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And a primordial Greek Goddess of Night. 🙂
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Real women are tough. I think of the things my grandmother endured in her time. Tough as they come. This princess mentality perpetuated by Disney and fairy tales is part of what has this world so screwed up currently.
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I think that mentality has been dead for a long time. My time as a substitute teacher showed me that girls can (and many times are) more vicious than boys. Every fight I saw in those two years involved girls.
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The women in Clubs around here are still looking for a Prince though. Most would not dare to do work that would break a nail. Sort of sad.
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I think there are those types in every generation. Always a mix of Princesses and Rosie the Riveters with more in between.
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NYX is one of my favorites. I liked when she surprised Luke with the “little brother” title. I also like her lack of a sense of humor. (makes small smiles really worthwhile)
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That title came out of nowhere and stuck. I’m hoping she develops a sense of humor as the series goes on, but right now I’m having fun with a newer storyline for her that leaves her flustered. It’s hilarious.
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I’ll catch up sooner or later
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I love everything I’ve read about Nyx – I also love the idea of learning how to adjust oneself to the possibility of living beyond destiny.
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She’s still having trouble with that. It seems to get harder when one is actually faced with the ‘other life’.
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I’d suggest that the “fragile caster” archetype comes from a need to balance powers, especially in gaming. Magi are so powerful, you have to give them a weakness or the game is too one-sided. But, thank you for not having your women pass out at a single blow.
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In the game, Nyx used to do that, but only because the player kept charging into battle with a dagger. Always forgot about her spells.
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Maybe your character was telling you you’d given her the wrong class and she should have been a warrior!
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I wasn’t the player. The original Nyx was a warrior/wizard played by a girl (now my wife) who had never played the game before. She saw how the warriors would rush in swinging, so she tried to follow suit. It wasn’t until Nyx got some real combat spells that she figured things out. Though we spent almost as much time dodging her attacks as dodging our enemies.
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