Secrets, Spells, & Sunken Ships: Behind the Scenes of The Lost Heir!
Ever wonder how some of the details in The Gryphon Chronicles came to be? Well, grab a cup of tea ☕, because we're diving into Latin mottos, magical poets, and ink-loving critters—all hidden inside Chapters 12 & 13 of The Lost Heir!
Warning! Some slight spoilers ahead...
🛡️ The Order of the Yew Tree’s Motto
When Jake first steps into the Beacon House library, he sees the proud motto of the Order of the Yew Tree:
"Together we stand in friendship to defend." 💪✨
Gael came up with this. But let’s be real… we wanted it in Latin, it just sounds cooler.
Neither of us knows Latin, so we turned to our neighbor, who just happens to be a high school Latin teacher! (Yes, kids still study Latin. Who knew? 🤷♂️📚) He came up with:
Perstamus amicitiis defendere. 🏛️
Boom. Instant ancient secret society vibes. Love it. 💖
🌊 A Sinking Armada & A Spell-Casting Poet?!
Above the library fireplace in Beacon House hangs an epic painting of the Spanish Armada getting absolutely wrecked by a storm in 1588. ⚡⛈️🚢 That part? Completely real. A massive tempest sank one-third of the invading Spanish fleet.
But we thought… what if it wasn’t just the weather? 😏
Enter Christopher Marlowe—poet, playwright, spy (probably), magician (possibly), secret agent (maybe?).
Born on the exact same day as Shakespeare, Marlowe was surrounded by whispers of scandal and mystery. Some say he was a government spy, others say he faked his own death, and still others claim he was dabbling in the dark arts. 🎭🔮
So obviously, we turned him into a wizard. Naturally. 😆
In The Lost Heir, Marlowe uses a hidden spell to summon the storm that destroys the Armada, saving England from invasion. Fact meets fiction meets magic. (Honestly, history should just always be like this.)
🐛 The Birth of the Inkbug!
This scene also introduces one of our favorite tiny magical critters—the inkbug! 🖋️🐞
And honestly, at the time, we had no idea that inkbugs would be making appearances throughout the series. We just thought it was a cute idea. But here we are, nine books later, and the inkbugs are still making a mess of things. 😂
Eric came up with this creature, proving once again that two heads are better than one. 👩👨🦱
🌳 The Yew Tree & Jake’s New Life
This chapter also brings in the first mention of the yew tree, a powerful symbol of British history, magic, and mystery. 🌲✨ Yew trees have been associated with sacred groves, ancient traditions, and even immortality for centuries—so of course, it became the emblem of The Order of the Yew Tree.
As for Jake—he’s stepping into a whole new world, leaving behind the only life he’s ever known. Rookery kid ➡️ Aristocratic heir. Sounds like a dream, right? Not so fast. 😬 It turns out, being rich and powerful comes with its own set of problems… and enemies. But that’s a story for another day.
What Do YOU Think? 🤔
Did you know about the real sinking of the Spanish Armada? 🌊
Do you think Marlowe really was a spy—or even faked his own death? 🕵️♂️
Would you want an inkbug as a pet, or would that be a disaster waiting to happen? 😂🐛
Drop your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you! 👇✨
Short comments: Did you notice that the rolled up page the inkbug is on does not open the same way it is rolled up? Don’t think my cat would like the Inkbug in the house. Yes I new about Spanish Armada…. didn’t the Queen, or wasn’t the Queen also in the picture above the fireplace?
LOVE the motto & source of, and yes, Latin is still taught in HS. I have a young friend who elected to study it as his language. When I asked why, he said he and his friends could use it to talk to each other and no one would know what they were saying…. ???? It is a dead language after all, or is it?
This was absolutely fascinating. Some of this I knew, but I love the peeks into the writing process and learning who came up with what idea. I’ve read the whole series, of course and every time I Googled a historical, mythological or natural science reference, I’ve found you to be right on the button. This is one thing that makes these books so great. You take an event that really happened, or a creature that may or may not have really existed, and build a magical world around it. Thanks for the many hours of reading pleasure.
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