This final behind-the-scenes look at Seven Nights at the Afterlight comes at the request of some of my readers, including Ash, who is one of my Ko-fi members. They asked to hear more about the world and how it works.
At first, I wasn't sure how much I'd have to say since - unlike most of my stories, which are set in made-up fantasy worlds - Seven Nights is set in our world, with just a little more to it. But the more I thought about it, I do have my own lore for the different creatures you might come across in the story. And the setting, even if it's a real place, is one that serves the story well. So today, let's talk a bit about the world of Seven Nights at the Afterlight.
The Setting
Seven Nights at the Afterlight is set in...well, the Afterlight Popup Music Hostel. And although some of the guests may be ancient and/or immortal, the hostel itself is quite young, opened for the first time four years ago.
It is a pop-up hostel because it's able to magically pick up from one location and appear somewhere else when they need to move, or when they simply want a change of scenery. So while future stories in this series may move all over the country - or the world - the story begins in Ann Arbor, Michigan in October of 2014.
I chose Ann Arbor years ago as my setting. I wanted something that was set in a smaller city, and an artsy, quirky university city seemed kind of perfect. What really drew me to Ann Arbor as a setting, however, were the fairy doors. Although you can find fairy doors all over the place now, they really became popular in Ann Arbor, after they were "discovered" by artist Jonathan Wright, who documented his "findings" on his website, Urban Fairies. That just the touch of magic that I wanted to make a home for my magical cast of characters. Plus I thought Sam, my main fae character, would get a kick out of the doors.
As far as setting the story in 2014, I've always liked the idea of stories that are set in the recent past. Not far enough back to be a period piece, but not now, either. I started working on this in late 2013 - early 2014, so it seemed like the perfect choice. Plus it frees me from the restraint of needing to stay current in references, and no one's experienced Trump as a president or COVID yet!
I also have a Pinterest board for the hostel itself, which you can check out here.
Vampires, Werewolves, and Fair Folk, Oh My
The other thing that's worth expanding on is the people that make up the world of Seven Nights at the Afterlight. In some regards, I stuck to pretty traditional lore, but I made up bits of my own or stretched the lore here and there.
One thing that I kept consistent is that every race of people has some kind of "curse," whether literal or not. So here's what I've got:
Demons
Demons are probably the ones I've diverged the most from the traditional lore. Instead of coming from hell, demons are born out of moments of intense chaos and destruction. A murder or a massive accident, for instance, might produce a demon. Because of the ways they are created, they are often expected to themselves be only interested in chaos and destruction. While that might be true for some, it's not the case for all demons. They can't help the way they were born and some wish to assimilate into the life they've been given without that much trouble.
Demons live a lifespan somewhat equivalent to a humans, but they do not age unless they and generally remain in the same form that they took when they spawned. Most demons can disguise themselves, and have an innate gift when it comes to chaos magic. Lacking a traditional familial structure, demons typically name themselves. A demon's curse is being constantly suspected. If something goes wrong and a demon is there, most people will blame the demon.
Fair Folk
You never call one of the fair folk a faerie. For one thing, Faerie is where they come from, not who they are. For another, it's incredibly rude. Stick to "good fellow" or "fair fellow," or - if you're referring to a group of them - fair folk or fae.
Fair folk are immortal in Faerie, where they live a life based on whims and desires and often find themselves at war with the other courts. When they interact with humans or the mortal world, it's often to either play tricks on them or steal them away to be a pet for the ruler of their court or one of the nobles. However, exposure to the mortal world long-term is essentially a slow poison to them. If a fair fellow chooses to live in the mortal world, they will live a short life, often a bit shorter than that of a human. This is a fae's curse (as well as the inability to lie).
Fae have different abilities depending on the type of fae they might be. Sam, for instance, is a sidhe. When they play music, it has the power to entrance or even drive mortals to madness. All fae are skilled with glamour. They also cannot lie, but because of this they are typically able to tell when someone else is lying.
Humans
Humans are...humans. If you're reading this, presumably you're a human or at least know what humans are. In the world that Seven Nights at the Afterlight takes place in, humans exist in much the same way.
They don't have any innate magic, though they can learn it, and generally the paranormal world is kept secret from them. Even when they have brushes with it, most are able to convince themselves that it was something very natural, after all. Humans can live for about 100 years or so, but they're vulnerable to pretty much everything so it doesn't often happen.
The curse of humans is ignorance. Even when they know about the paranormal world, even in the rare instance that they're sympathetic, there are parts of that world that they can never fully understand.
Shades
Shades are ghosts, fractured souls that often died young or violently and were not able to move on, thus leaving a part of themselves behind. Their curse, besides being incorporeal, is a lack of freedom: they are bound to a place or person that they haunt. In the early days, shades seem mostly like the person that they were in life. However, the longer they remain in the mortal realm, the more they "go bad" and become more corrupted and bitter. After a few years, the shade bears little resemblance to the person it was in life.
Vampires
Vampires are created in the classical way: they're drained by other vampires and then made to drink their blood. They are undead and have preternatural powers of charm and manipulation. They are immortal, but they can be killed by fire, decapitation, or a wooden stake to the heart.
Vampires are not unable to eat human food, and in fact many do for the taste. Laurel, for instance, is known to love pizza. However, human food and drink does not sustain them. The curse of vampirism is constant, gnawing hunger. Even blood does not fully sate that hunger, but it is the only thing that somewhat quells it.
They also can have their pictures taken as long as the camera is modern enough that it does not use silver. Sunlight does not cause them to burn up, but it does make them violently ill to the point of being incapacitated after any substantial exposure.
Werewolves
The curse of werewolves is a loss of control, so they're very much the classic werewolf trope. They change at the full moon, whether they like it or not. There are potions that can ease the physicality of the transition, but none of them that give werewolves a sense of control during their change.
A werewolf who's been at this a while will know somewhere to go where they're not likely to hurt people, and they will have a post-change pack that they can find in the morning.
Werewolves do not change at any other time than the full moon, though they may take on some more wolflike instincts and whatnot as it gets closer to the full moon. They tend to be stronger than most humans, and they live a little bit longer though nowhere near as long as vampires. They also retain an excellent sense of smell month-long. Werewolves can be infected via bite or scratch, or they can be born werewolves.
Witches
Witches are sort of humans+. They're humans, but they are more in-tune with the magic of the world. Because music is such a big thing in this story, magic is very much something heard by those who are in the know more often than not. They may be born more sensitive to this, or they may learn magic from someone else.
Witches are otherwise completely human, but they may use spells to somewhat extend their lifespan. Additionally, witches are sometimes wary of vampires because if a witch is attacked and turned, they lose their sensitivity to the magic of the world.
So those are the people and settings that make up Seven Nights at the Afterlight. And that concludes my promotional posts about Seven Nights at the Afterlight! The next time you hear from me on this mailing list, it will be with chapter one of the story! I'm freaking out a little, but mostly in a good way.
And don't forget, if you want to support me and get early access to chapters among other benefits, check out my Ko-fi membership! I have three members already: Ash, Laney, and Aradhna. Thank you guys so much for your support!
