Magnum Opus characters
"ancilla," aka "eromene"
I don't give any of my characters official names - characters are referred to by function-determined nicknames that are subject to change as the characters evolve, or as they take on different roles and functions. Hence the two names here, both in scare quotes.
"ancilla" is a Latin word. In Roman times, it referred to a handmaid - a female servant who usually attended on the domina of the house. The word evolved to refer to a female slave or servant in general. The Latin translations of the New Testament had Mary calling herself an ancilla of God when Gabriel announced her pregnancy to her, and Heloise called herself Abelard's ancilla in her letters to him, one of which I quote from in a chapter of Ancilla. (Title drop!)
In modern times, the word is used more to refer to an assist - a study guide used to help with learning something difficult - or to an attachment. If something is ancillary, it's additional.
"Magister" calling his sub "ancilla" implies her subordinate status to him, her role as temple assistant, and her being a sort of sidekick.
As his feelings for her grow into passionate love, he begins to call her "eromene" - Homeric Greek for "beloved." He uses the feminine ending for the word. This would have been unheard of in ancient Greece, but fortunately for the protagonist and her mentor/dom/husband, they don't live in ancient Greece.
"Magister," "Erastes"
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Meet the male main character of Ancilla.
He's twenty years older than the protagonist, and outside of the bedroom and tutorial sessions, he is most definitely not an alpha. I wanted to take a wrecking ball to some toxic stereotypes of what sexual dominance is supposed to look like in a man, and what male main characters are supposed to look like in romances.
Surely I'm not the only reader who is sick to death of swaggering macho men, smug billionaires, insanely possessive yanderes, violent mafiosos, and other male characters who make you want to punch them in the face.
Give me a cinnamon roll book boyfriend any day of the week, please!
"Magister" is painfully shy, introverted, quiet and soft-spoken, comfortable in non-leadership roles, emotionally stable, and supportive of his beloved. He's a librarian by profession, and like "ancilla," he is an intellectual by nature. His personal interests include cooking and baking, listening to opera and classical music in general, playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, reading books (especially science fiction novels and books on history, philosophy, and the occult), studying Thelemic magick, and of course, BDSM.
I don't state his sexual orientation explicitly (aside from his kinks, and his monogamous wiring) but I imply him to be demisexual and heterosexual. I also code him as autistic, which is something he shares in common with the protagonist.
When he becomes more lover to her then teacher his name evolves from "Magister" (Latin for teacher) to "Erastes" (Homeric Greek for lover).
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