The influences for Tales of Aurduin are about as varied and diverse as the themes,
cultures, and characters of the story itself.
The original inspiration for the series came from such great works as The Lord of the Rings and
Dune. Both of these works present rich worlds with profound depths of history, spanning thousands of years.
A primary goal in Tales of Aurduin was to create a world with comparable depth, history, and richness.
Tales of Aurduin is also greatly inspired by the author's own academic background.
Martin Ball earned his PhD in Religious Studies from UCSB in 2000 with an emphasis on Native American religions and had a
temporary appointment teaching Native American Studies at UC Berkeley in 2002 when he began writing Orobai's Vision.
The sacred geography and symbolism of Aurduin is largely inspired by the near-universal symbolic encoding of the power of
creation in the four directions by Native American cultures. In particular Martin was greatly influenced by his fieldwork
research working with Mescalero Apache medicine people and studying their "Mountain Spirit" religion. In addition, aspects
of the story, its cultures, traditions, myths, and rituals, are informed by such diverse traditions as alchemy, Tantra, mysticism,
shamanism, Taoism, Buddhism, and other existing spiritual practices.
Additionally, the story is informed by different areas of academic study such as anthropology, ritual studies,
myth and symbol, philosophy, systems theory, and even sub-atomic physics, as with the case with the Mwataan (pictured above),
a metaphysical serpent based, in part, on Superstring theory! And there's even some contemporary politics and social
criticism thrown in for good measure.
Another important influence on these stories is the annual Burning Man festival in Nevada, which Martin
Ball has attended yearly since 2001 (the series was started in 2002). Sometimes subtle, sometimes more apparent, Burning
Man is integral to major portions of the story, especially for volumes II - IV.
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