#godling.wip

[ofillyria]

                                       NANOWRIMO WIP: PRIME

ABOUT

genre: fantasy pov: first person / past tense tropes & themes: found family, bisexual love triangle, girls fighting evil, gods & monsters, demigods, the hero’s journey.  status: in development audience: young adult

SYNOPSIS

The gods used to walk among humankind. They viewed their creations with delight and interest. Many gods entangled their lives with that of mortals but humans did not like all the practices of the gods, and when godly blood was spilt, the gods began to fear their creation and fled to distant lands. 

Some gods would return to cavort with humankind, and offspring resulted in these unions. But godly essence was a limited resource, and with each new child, the essence would slow be depleted until the god faded into oblivion. When their descendant died that piece of the god was lost forever. 

Now, these children are rare. The gods fearing their own demise are wary of humans and even more wary of passing on their blessings to half-human kin. Only eight are known to exist, a council of godling rulers. Those eight have been given a message, a premonition: there is a godling yet to realize her lineage. She is the firstborn child of The Dreamwalker, making her the most powerful godling in four hundred years. 

The current council of godlings must find her and protect her. If she is swayed to the wrong side or found by the wrong creatures, she could be used to fuel the fire that burns down the reign of the gods once and for all.

EXCERPT

My palms hit the ground first, catching me, but only with a fierce collision against the harsh, packed dirt. The impact sent pain cracking up my arms as my bones buckled from my wrist to my elbow, and finally locking at my hunched shoulders. I sprawled on the ground, scowling up at Bash, who seemed all too pleased to see me fall.

“You don’t have to be so cruel,” I muttered.

“Cruel?” he questioned, his voice lilting up at the end of the sentence. I could feel the cool metal under my chin, placed softly, pricking like a pin at my soft flesh. It would not draw blood, but with one move from him I could spill scarlet onto the ground that would call the ichorites after me and they would tear me apart. But Bash just smirked, letting the blade fall, “Mean, perhaps, Rude, definitely. But never cruel.”

I didn’t like how much the words resonated with me. I knew he was being truthful, or at least he thought he was. I struggled to remember any outright malicious moment. Had he been good to me this entire time and I’d failed to notice it? He never dallied with niceties or tried to assure me I should stay even when I knew I wasn’t wanted. Bash spoke only the truth to me so far and seemed to be the only one that accepted me without ignoring my flaws. I was scared by how kind that was. Up until that moment, I was sure I hated him.

LINKS

wip page | pinterest | soundtrack | edits tag | excerpts tag

[ofillyria]

                     THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF ISLAINE

Islaine is home to humankind, on the west side of the map. To the east are the wildlands of Epince, a land that is only populated by wild animals, monsters, and the dying gods. Islaine is a highly populated and diverse collection of kingdoms. The central kingdom, Asherall, serves as unofficial ruler to the rest of the kingdoms. But Poldarne, due to it’s large mass and thriving economy is steadily growing as a threat to Asherall’s reign. 

ASHERALL - The central kingdom, known for its lush boreal forests. It’s prone to heavy rainfall in the autumn and spring, with light snowfall in the winter, especially in the northern half of Islaine. The northern half features tall mountain ranges spotted with glistening silver lakes. That is the wilder half of the kingdom, whereas the southern half is known for its sprawling fields and meadows. The south features most of the kingdom’s towns and holds a majority of the population. These small villages are the center of many trading routes and draw artisans from all over Islaine. The kingdom is lively and well-organized with a strong central government and well-trained knights to enforce the laws. The largest city is the capitol, which is placed on an Island in the Caladain sea, close enough to be accessible from the landmass via bridges. Capitol City features a large castle and sprawling gardens, most of which have become overgrown. 

WINDMIRE - Known primarily for it’s logging and mines, Windmire is home to the more rugged sorts who shy away from living within the law. It’s technically its own kingdom but has not had an established central government in over two hundred years. Each town and settlement has its own laws and it’s governed by elected officials. Many precious ores and gems come from the mountains of Windmire and are traded to Asherall. The climate of Windmire is always cool and prone to harsh winters with deep snow. The entire kingdom is filled with tall spruce trees and rushing rivers. It is not a home for the faint of heart.  

DZEN - Dzen is the fishing hub of Islaine. The innermost sections of the landmass are dedicated to small farms. But most of the non-coast region is unestablished, and instead filled with sprawling fields which turn golden in the summer. It is dotted with the occasional lake or stream, with surrounding groves of oak trees, but otherwise, the land appears open and untainted by man. The coast, however, is lined by bustling ports. The western ports tend to be rowdy and filled with seedy sorts and adventurers, while the ports closer to the east and south tend to be more refined and closely monitored by local government. The eastern ports fish with the Caladain sea, often retrieving crabs and smaller fish. While the western ports venture out into the ocean for bigger catches. Dzen is responsible for feeding most of the kingdom. 

POLDARNE - Poldarne began much like the other smaller kingdoms, focusing on farm and trade. But because of its warm and consistent climate, it’s drawn more and more people to take up residence in the bustling and interwoven network of cities. It’s a neoliberal society, somewhat democratic, but with an economy free of government interference. Some believe it’s lawless, despite the fact that it has an ever-growing series of interconnected militia. The people of Poldarne are known for being self-reliant and anti-monarchy. It’s for this reason that the rise of Poldarne’s power poses a threat to the kingdom of Asherall. Despite there being no official declaration of war everyone expects conflict to start soon. Poldarne is also known for its grand carnival, where people pay to watch animals and monsters fight. These creatures are captured and held in captivity or sold off to private buyers. Poldarne is the kingdom which appeals to those looking to get rich at other people’s expense. 

TAKKERTIL - Takkertil is the smallest and humblest of all the kingdoms, often regarded as more of an unincorporated part of Asherall. The people of Takkertil are equally unassuming, tending to be farmers and craftsmen. Takkertil, despite the fact that it allows Asherall to declare laws and send knights to protect the towns, is a very self-contained kingdom. The people are peaceful and focus more on making a living for themselves than worrying about the larger world. Of course, this is only because Asherall does not tax Takkertil for the presence of occasional law enforcement. The climate of Takkertil varies greatly depending on the season, with hot summers and bone-chilling winters. The land features mostly fields and rolling hills, but also grand lakes and the occasional temperate forest. It’s a diverse kingdom and the closest thing to an utopia in Islaine.

[ofillyria]

so about your wip prime,,, are the gods from an existing mythology or are they your own? and if it's not spoilers who are the eight godlings descendants of? :0 (@kryskakikomi)

oooh thank you for these questions!! 

the gods are not from existing mythology but were loosely inspired by the greek and norse pantheons. the original draft of the novel featured the greek gods but i feel like i didn’t really have any super hot takes about them so it was better to just make new gods which would allow for more creativity! and the godlings heritage is revealed very early on in the novel so i don’t think of them as spoilers. 

obviously, the lead character, cordelea, is the child of the god of dreams, vynos. her divine abilities are yet to be uncovered but because she is the firstborn it’s likely whatever powers she has they will be extreme. no one knows why they’ve laid dormant for so long, since usually godlings’ powers emerge when they are around fourteen. and lea is twenty one. 

ava, the blacksmith and one of the secondary characters, is the child of varahin: god of fire. this means that she can superheat her hands and she is immune to fire. 

bash is the son of banir, god of death. because of his lineage bash has been ‘blessed’ with the ability to sense when people are going to die. the premonitions are loose but if someone’s death is encroaching he can feel it. 

ver is the last child of urros, god of weather. because his bloodline has grown weak ver’s powers are rather underwhelming. she can summon rain, which really only serves to ruin a nice day or water the garden. 

deidra is the daughter of the god of attraction, edea. thus she was granted the blessing of being perceived as beautiful no matter what. this also serves as a curse since she is always subject to the gaze of others and 

mira is the daughter of idis, the goddess of celestial bodies. as a result she can see the turning of the heavens and is gifted with premonition. she’s the oracle of the godling council and often provides valuable insight. 

henri is the son of tithos, god of the sea. henri’s blessing prevents him from ever drowning. this is quite helpful since he’s a sailor and a fisherman. 

calum is the son of anarin, god of war. calum doesn’t actually appear in the novel because he went missing a few years before lea’s arrival at court, but his absence can be felt. the godling’s considered him family and his disappearance left everyone confused. 

really, thank you so much for the question! it was so nice to compile a proper list! i want to make character intros for all of them but i’m so picky about aesthetics lol!

[ofillyria]

🌹 :D

for every "🌹" received in my inbox i'll post one random sentence of a random WIP i'm currently writing

“She shouldn’t be smiling at me.”

[ofillyria]

What’s ur wip about?

insert the gif of yung neil saying “that’s kind of a big question”. but a very good question, thank you! right now the wip that i’m dedicating the most mental energy to is called GODLING (or PRIME, which is the name of the first book in the proposed series). it’s the draft i’ve chosen for nanowrimo while i take a break on slogging through revisions of NIGHT TWELVE. GODLING is actually a rewrite of a rewrite of a fanfic. lol. 

GODLING takes place in a high fantasy universe where gods and monsters are real, but they are dying out. the narrative focuses on the children of the gods who know that they are going to be one of the last generations of half-human and half-god spawn, known as godlings. the relationships between humans and gods is tenuous, and the relationship between gods and godlings even more so. but the godlings are trying to do right by their parents, even if the relationship is distant. 

The main character, Cordelea, who goes by Lea, is about to take the final test which will allow her to become a priestess int he temple of the goddess Idis. But she makes a mistake and cuts her hand open during the ritual. When she does so, she is given a vision from the goddess: a warning to run. Lea is soon after attacked by strange humanoid creatures and only escapes by burning down the temple with the creatures inside.

She learns that she is a godling, the child of the dreamwalker, who has never before mingled with humans. As a result, she’s invited to join the godling council, a powerful collection of godlings which govern the kingdom. Overwhelmed, but without a choice, she begrudgingly accepts her role as one of the few inhuman leaders of Asherall. 

Obviously, there’s going to be resistance from her peers and from Lea herself about this change. And there’s going to be a quest to the wildlands where the gods live. But I’m still determining what to add to the first book and what to add to books two and three. For now I’m focusing on worldbuilding before I delve into plot! 

[ofillyria]

me, out of nowhere: wouldn’t it be nice if the godling characters had a feral mode where they turned into literal monsters? yeah. 

[ofillyria]

🌹

for every "🌹" received in my inbox i'll post one random sentence of a random WIP i'm currently writing

“I rested my hands on my knees, my chest heaving and stomach turning like I was about to vomit on my parent’s doorstep. It would certainly be a decisive way to tell them exactly how I was doing at the moment.”

[ofillyria]

my new wip: umbrella academy but make it high fantasy