New!
Author resources • Lorehaven Guild
Podcast sponsors • Subscribe for free
Crew manifest Faith statement FAQs
All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

Into the Darkness
Reviews, Feb 3, 2023

The Chosen Succeeds Where ‘Woke’ Stories Fail
Jenneth Dyck in Articles, Feb 2, 2023

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, Feb 1, 2023

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy · sci-fi · and beyond
middle grade · young adult · grown-ups
All novels Search Add a novel
Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
The Genesis 6 Project, Michael Ferguson
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Podcast sponsors | Subscribe links
Archives Feedback

147. Why Can Christians Celebrate Stories about Merlin and King Arthur? | with Robert Treskillard
Fantastical Truth, Jan 31, 2023

146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth, Jan 24, 2023

145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
Fantastical Truth, Jan 17, 2023

144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 10, 2023

143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 6, 2023

142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
Fantastical Truth, Dec 20, 2022

Quests

Join our monthly digital book quests.

Lorehaven Guild Faith statement FAQs

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, February 2023

Prince Caspian
Book Quests, January 2023

Dream of Kings
Book Quests, December 2022

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Book Quests, November 2022

Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review

Into the Darkness
“Charles Hack’s Into the Darkness summons a close-range science fiction story, focusing on the personal challenges of space warfare among alien cultures with a steady pace and serious tone.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 3, 2023

A Crown of Chains
“A Crown of Chains creatively retells a biblical tale to explore themes of providence, racism, faith, and fidelity.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2023

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

Gifts

Find new gifts for Christian fans

Archives

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

Speculative Faith | archives

Lorehaven issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
New
Library
Podcast
Quests
Reviews
Gifts
Archives
Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ News

Dishonored Game Tattoo (Not a Communist Symbol) Cameos at the U.S. Capitol Riots

This week, social media mistook the symbol of an eldritch god from a video game for the Communist hammer and sickle.
Josh Hugo on Jan 7, 2021 · No comments

Fantasy fiction intersected with fantasy politics on Wednesday when right-wing social media mistook the symbol of an eldritch god from a video game for the Communist hammer and sickle.

Wednesday afternoon, a pro-Trump mob stormed the United States Capitol building in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden as the president-elect. Several members of the mob gained access to the Capitol interior and photographed themselves standing inside. In these photos, a symbol could be seen tattooed on the back of one of the men’s left hand (see sidebar image).

Blurry images of this tattoo soon went viral on Facebook, with people claiming that the symbol was the infamous Soviet hammer and sickle. People claimed this was significant because, after all, a man with a hammer-and-sickle tattoo must surely be a Communist. Some thought this proved that the riot at the Capitol was actually instigated by Antifa infiltrators, not by genuine Trump supporters.

But the symbol was not the hammer and sickle, as eagle-eyed (or perhaps nerdy-eyed) viewers soon noticed. It was, in fact, the Outsider’s Mark from the Dishonored video game series. While the Mark does have the same general shape as the hammer and sickle, the two are easily distinguishable in all but the blurriest images.

In Dishonored, the Outsider is a deity who rules the Void, the realm of primordial chaos from which magic is derived. The Outsider burns his Mark into the left hand of humans he favors, granting them supernatural powers such as teleportation and invisibility. The Outsider’s Mark is used as a general logo for the Dishonored game series, and it has become a popular tattoo among hardcore fans of the games.

At the time of this writing it has not been verified whether any of the Capitol rioters possess Void magic. But we can say with some certainly that people spreading this claim on social media possess poor eyesight.

Josh Hugo
Computer programmer Josh Hugo lives in Texas with his homeschooling wife, three homeschooled children, and two rabbits who do not go to school. He loves to read science fiction, but spends more time playing video games, which he insists can be just as good as books. His personal blog can be found at JoshHugo.com.
Website ·

Share your fantastical feedback. Cancel reply

Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors and publishers:
Reach new fans with Lorehaven

Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Website · Facebook · Instagram · Twitter