Wild GooseAgency

Vicky Martín Santamarta

The Leshy Chronicles

Fate takes a cruel turn for Iago when, overnight, his beloved grandfather dies suddenly. He flees uncovering the painful betrayal of Amalia and stumbles on the Nidavellir, where a group of dwarfs who have been searching for him.

Genre
Fantasy (Norse mythology and English folklore)
Rights available
World English / Translation / Film & TV
Audience
Young Adult
Word count
300 pages
Language
Spanish
Themes
Friendship; bullying; good against evil
Setting
Norse mythology and English folklore
Narrative Perspective
Narrated in past tense

Synopsis

Iago is a small, self-conscious teenager, tormented daily by classmates who cruelly brand him the dwarf. Yet the boy remains unaware that within him lies a power of vital importance. His friendship with Amalia and the profound bond he shares with his grandfather Esteban are his only refuge from an existence steeped in humiliation and solitude. But fate takes a cruel turn when, overnight, his beloved grandfather dies suddenly—and Iago uncovers a painful betrayal at Amalia’s hands.

Overcome with grief and anger, he flees his hometown of Irún, only to encounter, in the midst of his escape, a group of dwarves from Nidavellir who have been searching for him. They claim he is the one destined to help them. The dark elves are laying waste to Nidavellir, the sacred realm of the dwarven guardians—ruled by the enigmatic Warlock God Leshy—and have kidnapped the young giantess Awena of Jotunheim.

Through a tragic twist of fate, the child becomes stranded upon a small island on planet Earth. Driven mad by her disappearance, the giants of Jotunheim break free from their world, laying ruin to every realm that stands between them and their lost kin, determined to reclaim the baby giantess at any cost.

Thus begins Iago’s journey—an odyssey alongside Amalia and the brave dwarves of Nidavellir—to rescue Awena before the giants reach Earth, return her safely to Jotunheim, and restore the fragile peace between dwarves and dark elves.

Upon his return to Earth, Iago bids a final farewell to those he loves, exacts justice upon his tormentors, and sets forth on his ultimate voyage to Nidavellir—the world to which he truly belongs. There, he shall be reborn as Iago Storm, guardian of humankind and bearer of the ancient light.

Author's Note

In my professional life as a secondary school teacher, I once had a student whom his classmates nicknamed “the Dwarf.” He was cheerful, short in stature, and possessed a personality that inspired me to give the same nickname to the character in Chronicles. By then, I had already immersed myself in Nancy Arrowsmith’s A Field Guide to the Little People. There was no turning back: within the pages of Chronicles of Leshy, Sprig, Lep, Red Cap, Silvana, Goblin, and Knocker came to life —and I simply could not shake them off. These fairies accompany the protagonists, Iago and Amalia, and lend the work its unmistakable Celtic colour.

The novel is set in northern Spain—the Basque Country—because Celtic mythology also thrives there, much as it does in England. I know both places intimately through my family history. Indeed, the landscapes of northern Spain and those of England and Scotland bear a striking resemblance to one another. In both lands, green, blue, and brown abound. The shape of the land is similar, too: high mountains, valleys, rugged terrain, trees… And, of course, the weather. As I pondered how my protagonist, Iago, might survive bullying, his alter ego burst forth with almost feral force: Iago Storm.

I chose the nine worlds of Norse mythology because I am fascinated by the beings that dwell within them. While writing this novel, I felt as though I were plunging headfirst into the Celtic world; I revelled in the spark of romantic love, experienced Iago’s anguish as if it were my own, and watched him be reborn as Iago Storm.