Allow me to introduce the star of my fourth novel, Eva, daughter of Margar. Eva is a small, tan, and white loatron who lives on the magical island of Enda. She is thirteen years old when the story begins.
Wait. What if you’re new to the Tales Of Enda book series and don’t know what a loatron is? Before I tell you more about Eva, let me back up and share a little history of Enda and mythicals.
First of all, the fantasy novels that I wrote are set in medieval times off the coast of Ireland, or Eire. The stories take place during the tenth century. That’s after the Romans moved out, and the Anglo-Saxons and Celts were left to chase off Viking raiders by themselves.
They weren’t alone in their fight. Magical and mythical creatures still roamed Europe at this time. The fairy people left Scotland for Ireland and, along the way, created a magical park for their favorite animals, which they called the Island of Enda. The magical and sometimes talking animals call themselves mythicals.
When half-fairy, half-human people, known as the fey, took over the island, they wisely befriended the local mythicals. Eventually, humans migrated to Enda and settled among their magical neighbors.
The most famous mythicals on Enda are dragons, centaurs, fairies, and my favorite, loatrons.
Loatrons are colorful, pony-sized, goat-like creatures with scales, horns, and a flexible tail with three tingers on the end that can hold objects. They are herbivores that live in caves and graze while also enjoying bread and some human foods. Most loatrons have protective magic that appears when they are frightened or in danger.
What does that have to do with our hero, Eva? Well, the first thing you need to know is that while Eva is a loatron, she’s different from the others.
Here are five things you need to know about Eva.
1. Eva has no horns
Loatrons have one to five horns on top of their heads. They use them for fighting and pulling fruit from trees. Loatrons are very proud of their horns. You can tell a loatron’s tribe or ancestry from its horns. A loatron may be identified as from the curly-horn tribe, like the cousins Willoughby and Mathan from the book Sargon The Not So Great.
Eva’s father, Gregor, has two large, pronged or branched horns (not to be confused with antlers). Her mother, Margar, also has two pronged horns, but they are much smaller. Gregor hails from the large pronged-horned tribe of northern Alba. Margar comes from the small pronged-horned tribe in the south.
So, what happened to Eva’s horns? Her pronged horns were chopped off by angry fairies when she was a youngling (child). This is a constant source of shame and embarrassment to her and her family.
2. Eva’s nickname is “No Horns”
Well, not her real nickname. Just the one that her ex-friends, Cloda and Maisie, use to mock and bully her. If they want to tease her, they call her “No Horns”. Friends and family call her Evie.
But she doesn’t have many friends. The loatrons Sargon and Adorabelle like her, but they’re too busy with their training to hang out with Eva.
She’s pretty much a loner. Naturally shy and quiet, Eva’s not afraid to stand up to Cloda or anyone who tries to bully her or others while she’s around.
3. Eva was not born on Enda
Originally from Alba (Scotland), Eva’s family moved to Enda and later to the town of Clewside. Her parents set up a business as weavers of cloth. They live in a cave near the other loatrons, northwest of town.
4. Eva is not evil
She isn’t. I can’t say the same thing about the magic she possesses. Like other loatrons, Eva has protective magic. Not loatron magic, but a strange substitute given to her by a fairy healer after she lost her horns.
When Eva is frightened or in danger, she closes her eyes and pictures herself in her enemy’s mind, looking at the boxes that hold their recent memories. Her magic allows her to see memories as moving pictures and even remove them, replacing them with new ones she creates.
For example, if a manticore tries to eat Eva, she finds the recent memory of it attacking her and replaces it with a false memory. Something like, “I don’t like to eat loatrons. I ate one once, and it made me sick.” The manticore then trots away without hurting Eva.
What do you think? Cool magic or evil?
5. Eva and her memory magic are almost here
Finally, good or bad, Eva The Not So Evil is heading your way in the summer of 2026.
While you’re waiting, check out the loatrons in books 1 and 2. Then, for something different, throw in a sneaky little dragon called Manjucatus from book 3.
Or learn more about loatrons in my short story collection, starting with how Sargon met his best friend Dunstan in The Loatron In The Woods.
Do you like good heroes or the sort-of-good heroes? Captain America heroes that stay true to their values, or Iron Man heroes that sometimes struggle with right and wrong? Comment below and let me know what kind of heroes you like and why.
