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Wellannika

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registered at: Sep 21, 2025

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Oct 04, 2026

To:Fuas

Thank you very much.
The story is a blend of elements from various Slavic legends. The prologue itself was originally the end of chapter 3, but someone advised me to move it to the beginning since it introduces the concept of the world well. I hope you enjoy it.

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:0

Sep 28, 2026

Trivia Time:
Mr Twardowski and his long moustache tucked behind his ear -> this is something I took from the Cossacks cause I thought it looks cool. There are some characters in Polish shows that have such long moustache in their costume design. Here you'll find two examples:
1. https://i.iplsc.com/000N5QO5CPLS8Q0U-C323-F4.webp (Bogdan from 1670)
2. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTZjZmRmNjgtNzU2My00MTY2LWFiNWUtZjc1NzVjZDUxNGY5XkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg (Krzywonos from Ogniem i Mieczem 1999 eng. With Fire and Sword)

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:25

Sep 28, 2026

Trivia Time:
Leontina herself is inspired by the ghost story of Halszka from Ostroga.
Halszka was a beautiful maiden. She was so beautiful that her husband forced her to wear an iron mask and closed her in a tower (so he wouldn't have to be jealous). The girl's ghost is said to be haunting that tower.

And the role that Leontina has in the story, the Soul Guide, is taken from the role of 'Guślarz' in Adam Mickiewicz's Forefather's Eve Part II. 'Guślarz' (translated as a 'Guide' in English) is a kind of a Slavic shaman who conducts magical rites and communicates with spirits,

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:24

Sep 28, 2026

Trivia Time:
Angels -> angels appear in Polish folklore stories, they usually come to help or warn people. But, I'll be honest.... There's more stories about devils (especially contracts with them). That's why I let my imagination to fill in the gaps.

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:23

Sep 28, 2026

Trivia Time:
Rokita -> the demon for which Dargorad works is inspired by the devil from Polish folklore. He is one of the most powerful devils and is associated with wetlands and swamps. He was mostly corrupting peasants, as opposed to, for example other devil, Boruta who dealt with the noblemen. Rokita in some stories is presented as very strong but lacking in shrewdness.

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:22

Sep 24, 2026

Trivia Time:
The dance that Leontina and Dargorad performed is something based on a traditional dance called krakowiak. You can find examples of it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeQ6jYzt6cM
https://youtu.be/3Uok4AnjdF0?si=XW4miycByy-Z8Bri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg1MMZwgqYs

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:21

Sep 23, 2026

Trivia Time:
The Lubomirski Palace -> the place I described exists and you can see it in Cracow.
Some photos:
1. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Lubomirski_Palace%2C_15_sw._Jana_street%2C_Old_Town%2C_Krakow%2C_Poland.jpg?utm_source=pl.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=index&utm_content=original
2. https://www.polskiezabytki.pl/img/77/7713/20130720193954_6809778ac7ba020cab1cc8bdb545a270.jpg
3. https://ocdn.eu/pulscms-transforms/1/Du8k9kpTURBXy84MWE5ZTJjNWZkNTJmMTY4YmVmZDljYmM3OWNjZmZiNC5qcGeSlQMAP80H_s0EgJMFzQSwzQJY3gABoTAB

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:20

Sep 23, 2026

Hi! Under each chapter you'll find 'Trivia Time' which explains my sourcers and what inspired me.

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:0

Sep 22, 2026

Trivia Time:
I could finally put the earlier mentioned Anna Branicka and use her in the story 🥳
But this 'Trivia Time' is not about her but about the Lubomirski Family. They were based on a real noble family under the same name. Even Anna's great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jezy is inspired by a real member of this family: Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski.
I'll try to put some English webpages with info about them:
https://community.mytrueancestry.com/the-lubomirski-family/
Some estates: https://podkarpackie.travel/en/en-top-rzeszow/on-the-trail-of-aristocratic-history-and-estates-
And wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubomirski
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerzy_Sebastian_Lubomirski
If I find more later (better than wikipedia), I'll add them :)

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:19

Sep 22, 2026

Trivia Time:
There's a saying in Polish similar in meaning to the English one: Curiosity kills the cat. In Polish it's: Ciekawość to pierwszy stopień do piekła -> Curiosity is the first step to hell. I decided to use it as it has a vibe matching the world of my story.

Another thing that was mentioned in this update is the Underground University. Just like it was explained, it is a place where wizards gather and study magic. Their desire for knowledge is so deep that they're ready to sign the contract with the demon. Unfortunately, I don't have time to explore it, so once again, I only touched upon it. I hope that I'll be able to get more free time and dive deeper into this world as I write a possible sequel :)

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:18

Sep 21, 2026

No trivia time this time 😙

If you have any questions regarding the story or the world, ask.

Similarly, if you notice any errors, please let me know. I will be happy to fix them. I would love the world depicted in The Guide of Souls to be improved.

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:17

Sep 21, 2026

Trivia Time:
Bibice, a village where the case with poludnica takes place, is a real village near Cracow and Wawel in Poland. Of course, there are no scary ghost's as in my story 😆

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:16

Sep 21, 2026

Trivia Time:
Poludnica -> Południca is a malicious female demon in Slavic mythology that haunts fields during the hottest hours of the day in summer. Just like in my story, she is the soul of a woman who died violently or just before, during, or shortly after her wedding. She was basically used to warn people not to come out during hot midday hours -> to avoid getting heatstrokes. Here's an image of her from the Bestiariusz Słowiański by Paweł Zych and Witold Vargas: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS1zPqehhWG5OfA_bDpHcczp0pH7TKkvChs6wnZnmGz9zxyxREV_Bn78I1w&s=10

In my story she always haunts during the midday and changes the surroundings with her appearance.

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:15

Sep 21, 2026

Trivia Time:
How houses looked like? Here you have a page with photos that may help you imagine the village: https://www.osmol.pl/skansen-sierpc/ .

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:14

Sep 16, 2026

Trivia Time:

Anna Branicka -> a real historical figure. She was an aristocrat. I used a story about a ghost lady who stayed behind to care for her treasures. Jus like in the story she was the source of the latest gossip for Mr Twardowski. He would send down his spider and through it receive some juicy stories.

Wawel -> actually a castle in Cracow (Kraków). Cracow was the second capital of Poland (after Gniezno and before Warsaw). Wawel is connected to the story of a Wawel dragon. It's very popular in Poland and I wouldn't be myself if I didn't put it in my story somehow. You can find the story about dragon here:
https://krakow.travel/en/artykul/115/the-legend-of-the-wawel-dragon
Of course, I don't have time to explore the legend of the Wawel dragon in Leontina's story right now. But I'm thinking of using it in the future in something like a sequel to this story if possible.

The Guide of Souls

Chapter:13

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