A Story of the Eleriannan
by

- In Sleep You Know
- Cast a Shadow of Doubt
- A Third Kind of Madness
When Denny isn’t working as a photographer, they spend their time at the local coffee shop mooning over one of the regulars, the mysterious and beautiful Peri. No one’s more surprised than Denny when she asks them out on a date.
What happens that night throws the couple into a world where nothing is as it appears and everyone wants to get their hands on Peri and her powers to inspire artists – especially Joolie, the controlling and egotistical leader of Denny’s art collective.
If that wasn’t enough, the powerful, capricious water elementals known as Nyxen have inexplicably taken an interest in Denny. They warn that Peri’s gifts bring nothing but trouble to those around her. It’s hard to argue with them when the magic starts to go wrong; paintings greedily come alive with grasping tentacles, an obsessed ex-lover returns to threaten the couple, and Denny begins to wonder if their grip on reality is beginning to slip…
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Genres:
Tropes: Changing Painting, Cross-Species Friendships, Evolving Powers, Found Family, Person in Distress
Word Count: 120,000
Setting: Baltimore City, Maryland
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Tropes: Changing Painting, Cross-Species Friendships, Evolving Powers, Found Family, Person in Distress
Word Count: 120,000
Setting: Baltimore City, Maryland
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
“You look lost, yet I know you are not.” The voice is soft and deep, with a spoken rhythm reminiscent of waves lapping against the shore.
Aw, seriously?
READ MOREI turn to my left and seated on the stone wall under a scraggly-looking tree is a Nyxen. It strikes me immediately that this is not one of my Nyxen, as much as any Elemental could be called mine. I’m not even sure how I know it because they are such amorphous beings, and even this one can’t seem to settle on an appearance. It keeps shifting between long and short hair or whatever the watery substance is on its head. Otherwise, it’s surprisingly stout in build, quite different from the Nyxen I know, and almost squat. It still has that blue-green-purplish hue to it, though, as much as I can through the meager shadow the tree provides.
“I don’t believe we’ve met before?” I keep my voice light and noncommittal.
“We have not. But you have the blessings of my cousins on you, mortal, and that is rare indeed. And you look troubled.” It chuckles in a low voice. “More than looking troubled, you are broadcasting it loudly. And luck is on your side, as I believe I may have insight for you.”
“It’s true that I don’t know what to do. But I can’t afford to be in the debt of someone as powerful as an Elemental, especially not now.” Oh, I can’t afford to disrespect it either, crap. “Your offer is much appreciated, though.” Fuck it, I add a little bow at the end. Can’t hurt.
The bow earns me delighted laughter from the strange Nyxen.
“Ah, you’ve been well tutored! Not that one such as myself stands much on ceremony. As you can see, I’m hardly fastidious.” It gestures to the dark, polluted water below us. “No worries, mortal. Your bond with my cousins speaks well of you. No need to return favors for me.”
It gestures me closer, then seems just as quickly to change its mind.
“I am used to staying in the shadows, but let me step to you. The reputation of my kind is not a good one, and deservedly so. But I will not harm you. I will come away from the water to prove that.”
As it emerges from under the shelter of the tree’s branches and few remaining leaves, the streetlight’s yellow-toned glow illuminates the Nyxen’s stout body, revealing all the details that were hidden before.
It’s not a Nyxen at all.
It looks similar in face and colors, and how it shifts, but the resemblance ends there. Its sturdy frame is not as streamlined as the Nyxen I know, but rather bumpy and textured. It takes me a minute to realize that the bumps are actually barnacles. They cover its ankles and wrists heavily and less so across the rest of its body. Its hair is mixed with long strands of seaweed, and there are clumps of it wrapped around the creature’s body as well. I catch the dark shine of a mussel shell in its hair as the not-Nyxen throws its head back and laughs heartily.
“Ah, I see that I have surprised you! You thought I was the same as my cousins, yes?”
I nod, speechless.
“That tells me that you have not had much experience with Elementals. Yet you are properly cautious and respectful. I like that. I see why my cousins have marked you.”
“I—I am marked? What does that mean, exactly?”
Again, it laughs. “Not like a sign or a marking you would recognize. But there is an essence around you that signals to any of my kind that you have been favored by one of us. And being unaware of it means you do not take advantage of that favor. Though I would suggest to you that occasionally, you should.” It leans closer to me and winks. I can smell the familiar tang of brackish water and a hint of something fishy. It’s not unpleasant, surprisingly, because normally I would find it so.
“So, um—if you aren’t a Nyxen, then what should I call you? If that’s okay to ask?”
“At least one culture calls us Nereides, and that is as good a name as any. Once, we were known as beautiful, but as you can see, I reflect my home.” It indicates the dirty canal behind us with a wink. “Unlike my cousins, I live here in your harbor’s waters with others of my kind, and we are not as bound to each other as the Nyxen. Their bonds are by necessity, you see.”
I didn’t, but that was something to puzzle out later.
“So, is there a name I can call you? Or would you prefer I didn’t? I would give you my name in exchange…” Maybe that’s not the wisest offer, but I’ve made it this far through being polite, and I don’t see any reason to change that.
It looks me up and down as if judging my worthiness, which is fair enough. For my part, I stand there trying to muster all the confidence I can, which, as we know, isn’t much. After a moment, it nods thoughtfully.
“You’re a trusting child, aren’t you? Luckily for you, it’s a charming attribute. You may call me Dorcha, which is a name I have never offered to any but my own kind before today. Perhaps that makes me a trusting child as well, now.” When it smiles, its whole face creases up with the expression. It’s surprisingly endearing. I probably shouldn’t let down my guard, but it’s making that difficult.
“I’m Denny. I’m also known as the Photographer, at least by the Nyxen I know.” This gets me another full-faced smile. “I’m still new to this whole interacting with beings that are much more powerful than I am, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I make mistakes.”
“Points for your honesty, Denny the photographer. You are respectful and thoughtful and that counts for a lot, especially when dealing with water in any of its forms. But perhaps I should tell you what you need to know.” Again, it winks at me, and all I can think of is sunlight flashing on ocean waves.
I’m not sure how to answer, so I nod encouragingly like the fool I am.
“You can see that everything that you mortals discard eventually finds its way to me and my kin. It travels through the waters of the city to come to rest in the harbor. They’ve put a device now at the end of this channel to collect debris, but the emotions, secrets, and everyday concerns that travel with the trash escape those sorts of traps. And my kind? We hold it all. Those are our treasures.”
It moves a little closer to me and holds my gaze with an unnerving stare that makes the hair on my arms and the back of my neck raise.
“Water never forgets, Denny. And we Elementals know all the secrets the world wants to wash away.”
COLLAPSEJaneA on GoodReads wrote:Whimsical, intriguing, and dark in more than a couple ways! “A Third Kind of Madness” tells the tale of Denny, a non-binary photographer on the fringe of Baltimore’s social and arts scenes. Their routine unravels after an encounter with a coffeeshop crush and things get intriguing from there. This book suggests magic is real in Baltimore’s warehouse arts scene, and having lived in/around the copycat throughout my twenties, I concur. Pair this book with records by Switchblade Symphony or Babes in Toyland.
[Tim Paggi is the author of How to Kill Friends and Eviscerate People]
A Third Kind of Madness is the third contemporary fantasy novel in author Christiane Knight's Stories of the Eleriannan series.
In this novel, the protagonist is a non-binary character named Denny, who, after art school, ended up being part of a coterie of artists led by a painter from a wealthy family. Denny is a photographer, and their job in this art cadre was to take pictures of events and artworks from other people in the group. Soon, they realize they're hiding themselves and their true passions because sometimes it's easier to go along with powerful and manipulative people.
Ultimately, A Third Kind of Madness is the story of Denny's self-discovery, as well as their appalling realization that the head of the artist collective is greedy and jealous and willing to steal others' magic in the service of her own artistic goals.
As a non-binary person myself, reading a book with a protagonist who is like me on some very fundamental levels (not just the non-binary thing but the hiding your light under a bushel and manipulation/gaslighting by people who are supposed to be your friends) practically brought me to tears. It's the first time I've ever read a book where my true self is represented, in 50+ years of reading all kinds of books ... and IT MATTERS.
I don't want to go into the story too deeply, but I will say that while I loved Christiane's other Eleriannan books, this one is by far my favorite. It's well written, well plotted, and it blends the intricacies of human behavior with the elements of the supernatural in very creative ways. Buy this book!
This is the third book in the Stories of the Eleriannan series but any may be read singly without missing crucial details. Each book focuses on different main characters but there is an ongoing cast of regulars as well as shared themes.
Places in the books may or may not exist in our version of Baltimore. Half the fun is trying to figure out which ones!