Nyx in the House of Night

segments on StarShipSofa , which in 2010 became the first podcast in history to win a Hugo Award. Her official website is amyhsturgis.com.

{ The Magic of Being Cherokee }

    Jordan Dane
    THE HOUSE of Night series is unique from other vampyre lore in many ways, but when authors P. C. and Kristin Cast add depth to the fictional character of Zoey Redbird by giving her the Native American blood of a Cherokee, that’s where the magic in these novels becomes truly special. Native American culture is used as a springboard for the fictional world depicted in the series. The authors research real Cherokee myths and legends to add color and authenticity, then add creative twists to bring these myths alive on the page. And although the authors have never claimed to be experts on the Cherokee, the strength and depth of the Cherokee Nation shines like a beacon through their young heroine.
    Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Though Oklahoma is home to a larger-than-average Cherokee population, Zoey’s Cherokee roots still mean she looks different from the other kids at her school: with her black hair, olive-toned skin, high cheekbones, and large, captivating hazel eyes, she stands out in the crowd. In Marked , after she’s branded with the outline of a crescent moon that is a symbol of her being selected as a fledgling vampyre, Zoey believes that her Cherokee features, coupled with the exotic-looking tattoo, make her look wild—as if she belongs in ancient times when the world was more “barbaric.”
    After she’s Marked and her life changes forever, Zoey is lost, confused, and scared. She first turns to her family for help, but her mother and step-loser-father turn a cold shoulder, making her feel like a freak. Zoey is desperate for help and guidance—and she finds it by going to her beloved Cherokee grandmother, Sylvia Redbird. Sylvia becomes a very important human character in the series, representing and reinforcing Zoey’s connection to her Cherokee roots—a foundation that turns out to be a surprisingly useful one in helping Zoey deal with her new life. Throughout the series, her grandmother is there when Zoey needs someone most.
    On that visit to her grandmother’s lavender farm, Zoey has a fated encounter with the immortal Nyx, and that encounter, too, is steeped in her Cherokee bloodline. The Goddess comes to her in a vision after Zoey falls and hits her head. In what appears to be a dream or hallucination, she hears familiar sounds on the wind ( U-no-le ). Ancient Cherokee voices chant in time with the rhythmic beat of the ceremonial drums of her ancestors, with their ghostly bodies “shimmering like heat waves lifting from a blacktop road in the summer,” and Zoey finally meets the vampyre Goddess, Nyx, in the Cherokee realm of the Spirit People ( Nunne ‘hi ).
    Zoey carries her Cherokee heritage with her into the House of Night, taking the name “Zoey Redbird” to honor that heritage and her grandmother. (“Redbird” means “daughter of the sun” in Cherokee, an irony considering that Zoey is marked by Nyx as one of her Children of the Night.) Later, we learn Zoey is the reincarnation of a Cherokee woman named A-ya (a Cherokee word meaning “me”), and the legend of A-ya, Kalona, and the Raven Mockers becomes a driving force behind the House of Night series and a motivating gem that sets the book apart from other vampire mythos.
    Because of her heritage, Zoey is special even before the start of her second life as a fledgling vampyre, and it is her connection to the Cherokee people through her grandmother and A-ya that makes her uniquely able to face the threat of Neferet and Kalona. The world created in the House of Night series is a dark, rich tapestry of demons, evil spirits, and vampyres woven into real Cherokee beliefs and traditions. It’s a world threatened by legendary evil brought to life—and because of that evil’s Cherokee origins, only a heroine with Cherokee roots can save it.
    THE CHEROKEE IN OKLAHOMA
    The House of Night series is set in northeast Oklahoma, in Tulsa, and many local (and very real) hotspots are mentioned in the novels. The capital of the Cherokee Nation—one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes—is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, seventy miles southeast of Tulsa, where the Cherokee Nation maintains over 66,000 acres of land. The Native American inspiration in the series comes naturally as part of the setting and resonates with