From Jasmyn

Clan guardians

Clan guardians
Jasmyn Writes…

Hi my names jasmyn and I have loved reading the chronicles of ancient darkness. I would like to ask you about clan guardians. Can your clan guardian be an animal that you are deeply connected too? Thanks, Jasmyn

Michelle Replies…

Hello again, Jasmyn, and thanks for this.  You’re quite right, your clan guardian can indeed be an animal to whom you feel deeply connected.  In my previous answer about clans, I explained what a clan-creature is.  Well, the clan guardian is like the special, spirit version of a clan-creature, which watches over members of that clan.  You may never actually see it (although that’s not impossible, and you might think you have, if your clan creature does something out of the ordinary) but that won’t stop you asking it for help, or thanking it if good things happen.  And you might dream about it, which might make you believe it had visited you in your sleep.  The Raven Clan’s clan guardian is of course a raven.  But it’s not one of the ravens which hang about camp, or tease wolf cubs; and when Renn sometimes refers to individual ravens as “little guardian”, that’s just a form of speech.  She doesn’t mean that they’re actually the clan guardian.  But she’s always respectful to ravens, because they are her clan creature.  If this all sounds rather vague and mysterious, that’s because it is.  Beliefs often are.  But I hope it’s helped you understand.  And may your guardian hunt, run, swim or fly with you!  With best wishes, Michelle

 

 


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October 17, 2025
Festival patron and Sunday Times bestselling author Michelle Paver will talk about her latest supernatural fiction in this live recording with Always Take Notes, a podcast for and about writers and writing.

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October 20, 2025

Join Bridget Collins, Michelle Paver and Laura Sheperd-Robinson as they discuss their stories in a brand new collection of ghostly tales called The Witching Hour.

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Yeovil Literary Festival

October 25, 2025

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Successfully published as an adult author, the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (“Wolf Brother”) were her first books for younger readers, followed by her brilliant 5-part series set in the bronze age, Gods and Warriors. On the adult side, her first ghost story, Dark Matter, was a UK bestseller and won massive praise from reviewers and readers alike, as did her second ghost story, Thin Air.

Oxford Literary Festival 2026

March 29, 2026

The Oxford Literary Festival takes place in venues across central Oxford, such as Blackwell's bookshop, the Bodleian Library, the Sheldonian Theatre, the Weston Library, and Oxford colleges such as Christ Church and Worcester College. The festival includes international authors, journalists, intellectuals, historians, and poets.