Shadows, Striga, Shannara

Monsters, magical symbols, supernatural creatures, destiny, and a war that could shatter worlds. Three things that have all of these in common?

Well, a lot of things actually, but we're going to talk about a specific three.

In November of 2012, I heard a name-The Mortal Instruments. Now, normally I would never get hooked on a show by just the title, without knowing a single thing about it first. However, something in the title "The Mortal Instruments" just intrigued me, and so I managed to hunt down the trailer and it was just incredible-a girl finding out about a mysterious world full of demons, angels, mystical runes, and crazy secrets? This movie sounded like a wild ride, and when I finally got to watch it, I fell in love! I watched it a dozen times, learned all of the secrets and lore, and even bought a DVD version to have it forever! It grew even more exciting when I learned there was books, and whereas there was supposed to be a sequel movie for the 2nd book, City of Ashes (one of my favorites!), it was unfortunately scrapped in favor of a TV series, which was sort of a let-down, but still absolutely incredible in its own sense as a separate entity from the movies and books.

I absolutely fell in love with this series. I have read and seen every piece of media in regards to the Mortal Instruments. A few months ago, I purchased the Shadowhunter's Codex, which is a separate book pertaining to the series that teaches "mundanes who are preparing for ascension" (aka non-Shadowhunter humans who are trying to become Shadowhunters for various reasons also listed in the book, 10/10 read!) everything they need to know about "The Shadow World". I've studied the Runes, the demon-types, the rules and tricks of the trade. I've even picked a "Shadowhunter Name", Abigail Silverwell (Shadowhunter last names are often compound words. For example popular names in the books include "Fairchild", "Lightwood" and "Herondale").

In short, this series is extremely loveable and addictive if you just give it the time to work its way into your heart. It has intricate storylines, detailed magical rules (important for any fantasy work), and intriguing, mysterious characters that you can fall in love with.

Now, you might be wondering, "I finished watching all of the Mortal Instruments movie, I've watched the show, and I've read the books. What do I do now??"

May I introduce to you, The Witcher.

Now, first of all I must point out, the shows I'm discussing are not being listed to you in exact order of release. This is because I want to discuss the shows that are a tad more mainstream first, and even if you haven't seen The Witcher, most people have at least heard of it, since it was all the rave when it came out on Netflix. First, of course, is the presence of the ever-known Henry Cavill. Whether you met Cavill as Superman, Theseus in Immortals (another fav of mine!), or Charles Brandon in the Tudors, I am pleased to introduce you to another popular role of Mr. Cavill's, and that is The Witcher.

What is The Witcher, you might ask? Well, I am here to answer your questions!

Cavill's character, Geralt of Rivia, is one of the last Witchers on the landmass the story takes place in known as "The Continent". The story, in short, follows his destiny and that of Princess Ciri of a war-torn kingdom called Cintra, which have become intertwined with each other. The Witcher spends his days fighting off monsters for money, essentially doing other people's hero work. Witchers are rare due to the fact of their declining necessity, as well as the strenuous process in which a Witcher is created.

Witchers are humans who have gone through extreme mental and physical conditioning, as well as supernatural rituals, in order to gain abilities ranging from night vision to increased disease immunity to heightened physical abilities. People are usually selected to become Witchers, as the process leaves Witchers infertile, meaning they cannot pass on their traits and abilities to children.

In my opinion, the Witcher is a deep, mysteriously addictive, and lore-filled work that, if you are into things such as Shadowhunters/The Mortal Instruments, is sort of a less family-friendly step up, but an interesting watch nonetheless.

Now, if you read the title, we've covered Shadows (Mortal Instruments) and Striga (monsters featured in the Witcher).

So, what on Earth is a "Shannara"?

Well, it's less a Shannara and more the Shannara. The Shannara Chronicles to be exact. Compared to the Witcher and Mortal Instruments, in my opinion, Shannara is sort of a Hidden Gem, but you can find the series on Netflix. What I enjoy about this is the twist on the path of the world. Many stories go from something like "long ago there was magical creatures, and those races died out, the magic fading from the Earth, leaving normal human beings". Shannara spins that around. The show takes place thousands of years after the fall of humankind. The supernatural effects of the Great War created different races-Elves, Trolls, Gnomes, Druids, leaving very few humans. The story starts off simply-a race is run called the Gauntlet, and the Elven princess, Amberle Ellesedil, decides to run it. The Gauntlet is used to choose the new 7 Guardians of the Ellcrys, a magical tree that is also a gate holding back the demons of the Forbidding. Amberle places 7th in the Gauntlet, becoming the first woman to qualify for and become a Guardian.

However, demons begin to resurface as the Ellcrys is put in danger, leading to a discovery of a destiny tied together between three individuals-Amberle, a half-elf named Will Ohmsford (played by Austin Butler from Glee!), and a human Rover named Eretria. The story is filled with gruesome deaths, battles, magic and a beautifully woven storyline. If you're into something like the Mortal Instruments or the Witcher-if you enjoy Fantasy and Magic and overall good writing-the Shannara Chronicles is the place to go. This is absolutely one of the most wonderfully told stories I've seen, with clear understandings of the magical system, a clearly established storyline, and interesting inner workings.

I would 100% recommend the Shannara Chronicles to anybody who needed something new to watch!

Happy streaming!