Author: Ariel Paiement

Flash Fiction Fridays: Lost Soul

Ariel Paiement

For today’s Flash Fiction Friday, the focus is on Rith. Featured as the dark god or god of shadows in the Alcardian novels, he’s seen facing off with his sister in Rith’s Disciple, a short story set before the events of Pathway of the Moon. In this piece, the event leading to his parents’ and fiancee’s deaths is revealed.

~~~

The smell of smoke blasted him in the face as he approached the long gravel drive leading to his ancestral home. Rith frowned. Was father burning brush again? He glanced up at the darkening sky. Too late in the day. His heart squeezed, and his stomach ached. Something wasn’t right.

He broke into a run, trying to Step in the shadows. They didn’t answer. He tried again, reaching out with his mind. But still the shadows remained out of reach, refusing his request to portal to the house. His head ached with the effort, and he stopped in his tracks, grasping for his magic once more.

Why wasn’t it responding? Had the drinks he’d had with Sedra and Albrith addled him that much? He tried to reach out to his sisters, but only cold silence greeted him. He couldn’t touch their minds like he normally could either. Could he touch anyone’s? He reached for Raewen and his father. Nothing.

It didn’t matter. He forced himself to keep sprinting down the drive, ignoring the burn in his lungs. The smell of smoke strengthened, and his throat ached as it filled his nose and lungs. The heat in the air grew the closer he came to home.

Then he rounded the corner and saw it.

The entire mansion blazed, the fire angrily licking at the wood and anything else consumable. It raged through everything, flickering and leaping from the windows.

Rith froze for a minute and stared. How? How had this happened?

Where were his parents? And what about Raewen? His heart lurched. Raewen! She’d been planning to visit so they could announce their engagement. He’d been out celebrating the news with his sisters upon their insistence, but she should’ve arrived shortly before he did.

He broke into a run, rationality fleeing. Their motorized coach sat in the driveway where it should be, and he cursed, pushing himself to go faster. The heat seared his skin, but he ignored it, listening for any sign that anyone had survived.

He couldn’t call anyone for help. If they were in there, he was their only chance.

A scream lifted faintly from somewhere at the back of the house. Raewen. Were his parents with her? Why hadn’t they been able to get out? He sprinted around the side of the mansion, searching for any entrance point that wasn’t consumed with flame. The only part of the house untouched so far was the section without windows or outside doors. They must’ve been unable to break past the fire and had been forced to hide in the laundry room. But it wouldn’t be long before the flames reached them.

There wasn’t time to wait for help to come.

He called to the shadows again. They flickered in response but didn’t let him through. Sinking to his knees, he released a guttural scream and wrenched at the magic with all his might. Something inside snapped, and pain seared down every nerve in his body. He stiffened, screaming out of pain now instead of frustration. It shouldn’t feel like this. Why did it hurt so badly?

The screams inside the house grew louder before choking off. He stretched trembling fingers toward the house, his vision blurring. If he could just endure the pain, he could make the magic respond. He could save them all.

The shadows swirled around him, caressing his burning skin and whispering in agitated murmurs. They didn’t like what he was doing. The pain flared higher, and he dug his fingers into the cool grass beneath him. He would not lose them. He couldn’t.

With an agonized groan, he reached out to the magic again and screamed at it with his mind. Let me through! The shadows screamed alongside him, and then the world went dark as they sucked him in.

He was spit back out in the laundry room. Tumbling to a stop, he took in the situation, every nerve in his body still alight. Was this what it would feel like to have the fire rage inside of him? He sucked in a breath, the smoke and heat searing into his lungs. His gaze flew around the room before landing on three still forms in the back of the room. He’d found them.

Stumbling to his feet, he hurried to them. Each step cut into him as if he was walking barefoot across glass. His fingers trembled at his side, and the magic inside of him bucked against his restraint. Why was it acting like this? Why? He hadn’t been out of control like this since he was five.

He’d almost reached them when it happened.

The magic slammed into his walls of restraint and crashed through. Like a river blowing through a dam, it raged through him. The shadows in the room writhed in response, and his head felt like it was being split open. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head between his hands. Tears slid down his cheeks and evaporated as soon as they fell. Make it stop. Anyone, please, make it stop.

His vision blurred again, and he curled up in a ball on the floor, his own screams distant in his ears. Somewhere, he heard a muffled explosion. The ground trembled, and chunks of plaster from the ceiling hit him in the side. He couldn’t stay here. They couldn’t stare here.

He forced himself to his hands and knees, crawling toward his parents and fiancee. Maybe if he could reach them, he could portal them all away from here.

The wall behind them was webbed with cracks. He frowned, blinking. Was he hallucinating now too?

A groan vibrated through the floor and the walls. More chunks of plaster rained down on his back. Then the wall exploded backward, as though ripped out by an invisible hand. Rith collapsed, unable to hold his own weight. What was happening? His dazed mind couldn’t process any of it anymore. He stared at the ruined, jagged edges of the wall. Stared at the void beyond. The gloaming of dusk and his mother’s flower garden were no longer visible. Only blackness greeted him, deeper than any shadow he’d Stepped through.

Was this the end then? He lifted a trembling hand, wondering if the void could act as a portal. It was his last hope. He pushed himself back onto his hands and knees. Inch by inch, he crawled toward his parents and Raewen.

His head throbbed, and each movement was sheer torture. The magic rioting inside of him didn’t ease up. The darkness in the room deepened, swallowing up the forms of his loved ones. His limbs gave out again, and he slammed face first into the stone floor. A sob clawed from his sore throat, and he lay there, staring at the darkness. Then it swallowed him too, and the pain ceased as he gave in, letting it carry him away from the anguish in his soul.

~~~

That’s it for this week, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the piece. I’ll have a few more pieces on Flash Fiction Fridays showing more of Rith’s story if you liked this one. In the meantime, if you enjoyed this, you can learn more about his story in my novel Bane of Ashkarith, which releases at the end of July 2019.

Character Interview and Guest Post with C. Penticoff

Ariel Paiement

For today’s stop on the blog tour, I have two different blogs run by C. Penticoff. Out of Your Write Mind is a blog with writing advice and various writers’ services. The guest post here is about a new approach to dealing with writer’s block and the reasons it occurs. Read the guest post here.The second blog, cpenticoff is Cassandra’s personal blog. Here, she did a character interview with Kaidan. Check that out here.

Glossary for the Auralai Universe

Ariel Paiement

Actors – On Alcardia, actors are viewed as the lowest of the low and the greatest tricksters of them all. As such, the word is viewed as an insult. As a byword, it implies that the person is dishonest or a scoundrel.

Agharval – Meat with a venison flavor mixed with a hint of sweetness.

Airship – Newer inventions on Alcardia, air ships are just like sea-faring vessels, but they’re outfitted for flight instead and are aerodynamic to make the job of those piloting it easier.

Albrith – Sister to Sedra and Rith; revered as the goddess of light because she wielded powerful light magic.

Alcardia – A planet in the universe of Auralai. It is the main backdrop for the Legends of Alcardia series and the first novel of the Annals of Alcardia, Pathway of the Moon.

Aldhel – A sweet, light scented flower that has a scent between lilacs and daffodils.

Aleshtain – Argos’s neighboring kingdom. Aleshtain is viewed by many as barbaric for its bloody customs, sadistic rituals, and poor treatment of women.

Alithweald – One of the continents on Alcardia. The terrain is mostly desert and jungle.

Alrian Haridan – The first female High Imperial Knight, Alrian Haridan served under King Faolrian and was partially responsible for protecting Argos from Aleshtain’s undercover invasion.

Amadeira Thyrdas – A maid from Halbras Keep. She’s Leo’s love interest and becomes central to keeping him tethered as he expands his reach with his powers.

Anne Ryalin – Leo’s mother.

Arabhin – Alternate name in Common for the city of Faeridhia.

Argos – The kingdom where Leo and Deira are from.

Ashkarith – Also known as the City of the Dead, Ashkarith was once the capital of Faelkish under Rith’s leadership.

Auralai – The universe where Alcardia is located.

Banach – Queen Banach or Bane of Ashkarith was one of Sedra’s creations. She married Rith, and through their descendants the Son of Shadows will come.

Banachians – Descendants from Banach’s branch of the original six. Often employed as con artists, lawyers, card sharks, or in any other position requiring a keen mind and the ability to quickly understand others.

Bodashel – A Wyrdhan word for pathway. The word is used interchangeably with svaemal in Banach’s diary.

Brennan Dubhar – One of King Faolrian’s High Imperial Knights. Serves under Alrian Haridan and is later revealed to be her love interest.

Brythweald – One of the continents of Alcardia.

Church of Sedra – The main organized religion of most flat-land countries, with Aleshtain being the major exception.

Chyl – Headmaster Chyl was the Headmaster of the Society of the Learned in Montelishra and Argos during the time when Kaidan and Zerua were Seekers.

Controdene – An individual with some sort of psi or psychic ability.

Crown Prince Alefor – Eldest son of Queen Banach and King Rith of Ashkarith.

Dhiabhan – Also known as Eras Thilain, Dhiabhan is the eldest son of King Rabhor Thilain of Aleshtain. He is also the air captain who helped Kaidan and Zerua reach Ashkarith and return with their findings.

Draweald – Another of the continents of Alcardia.

Dubarin Hill – The hill in Argos where the last Pathway stands. Kaidan and Zerua once discovered Banach’s journal there. Now the place houses Dubarin Manor and its fief.

Eldur – One of the original six, Eldur is worshiped as the god of fire.

Eldurians – Direct descendants from Eldur’s line. Typically work as blacksmiths, horsemen, or soldiers.

Elkis Lionel – Cousin to Leo Ryalin.

Endene – Someone who can use some form of air magic.

Faelkish – The kingdom originally belonged to Rith but is now ruled by various local clan leaders or minor kings. It houses Faeridhia and Aleshtain.

Faeridhia – Also known as Arabhin, Faeridhia is the most famous city in Faelkish.

Hael – Soft-bodied, gelatinous creatures that cling to the hulls of air ships and feed off the oxidization while secreting a light way, durable slime that coats the ship and lowers air restistance.

Inherent – One with a natural energy source to fuel their power.

Ishkalt – Ishtral’s realm. It has several circles and is known for being a cold, desolate place.

Ishtral – The moon god worshiped in Aleshtain and its colonies.

Ishtralianism – The religion of Ishtral. Most places view it as a cult.

Jia – One of the first six created by Sedra. Worshiped as the goddess of earth.

Ji’ans – Direct descendants from Jia’s line. Typically found working as farmers, woodsmen, woodcarvers, hunters, or soldiers.

Kaidan Tadegan – A Searcher who discovered Banach’s diary and was responsible for freeing the ghosts of Ashkarith.

Kateshvale – Small mountain town in Montelishra where Kaidan and Zerua lived.

Kiarhsu Kashal – The main villain leading the Ishtralian faction in Argos in Pathway of the Moon.

King Aladhan – King of Argos when Kaidan and Zerua first explore Dubarin Hill.

King Eranar – King of Faeridhia when Kaidan and Zerua explore Ashkarith.

King Faolrian Eralon – King of Argos during Leo and Amadeira’s time.

King Rabhor Thilain – King of Aleshtain and Dhiabhan’s father.

Kythweald – One of Alcardia’s continents.

Leorithdhil Ryalin – An assassin turned vigilante. The main character in Pathway of the Moon, he is responsible for over thirty vigilante kills among the ranks of the nobility.

Mahala – The goddess of marriage and fertility worshiped by the Faelkishians.

Marks – Symbols of matrimony. These are used instead of rings and appear on the collarbones or the necks of couples after the ritual binding them together is complete.

Mericus – One of the original six created by Sedra. Mericus is worshiped as the god of water.

Mericusians – Direct descendants from Mericus’s line. Usually employed as merchants or sea-men.

Montelishra – A kingdom located beside Argos. Montelishra was Kaidan Tadegan’s homeland.

Mysweald – One of the continents of Alcardia.

Nadar – One of the original six. Nadar is worshiped as the god of matter.

Nadarians – Direct descendants from Nadar’s line. Usually employed as con artists, lawyers, businessmen, miners, or in other jobs requiring an ability to manipulate matter or a great deal of strength.

Nytweald – One of the continents of Alcardia.

Pathway/Gate – The Pathways or Gates are the connections between the worlds and even between universes. Some of them are open for travel without restrictions, while others, like the Pathway on Alcardia, are locked for the time being.

Phyden – Someone who can control physical things. Usually comes in the form of shape-shifting, changing one’s physical strength, or changing mass of objects and people. This is the only ability that comes with different Tiers of strength in the power.

Platiniums – A form of currency used in Alcardia. It is one of the higher denominations. Most poor families might make three platiniums for a year’s wages.

Quarfa – A herd animal with lean meat and a somewhat gamey flavor.

Rhubhian – Cousin to King Eranor of Faeridhia. She was taken as a slave during a raid on an outlying village and is now Dhiabhan’s slave.

Rith – Also known as the Dark god or god of shadows. Rith comes from Riladia and is the younger brother of Sedra and Albrith.

Rithden – Those who possess Rith’s ability to wield the shadows.

Rithians – Those who are descended from Rith and Banach’s line. This term isn’t used often as most simply refer to their descendants as Banachians, a term that Sedra preferred after she wiped her brother and most of his line out.

Rith’s Demise – Dhiabhan’s air ship.

Rithweald – A continent of Alcardia.

Searchers – Searchers are Alcardia’s version of archaeologists. They spend their time chasing down the truth behind legends and uncovering historical sites. Some may also be involved in the restoration of historical sites or dig locations.

Sedra – Rith and Albrith’s eldest sister. She created the six original beings that the rest of the Alcardians descended from. Her thirst for power eventually was her downfall, but not before she’d killed both her siblings and wreaked havoc on countless planets in different universes.

Sedra’s Week – Alcardian months are all held standard at 30 days. As a result, this leaves them with an extra five days due to the planet’s rotation. These five days are celebrated as Sedra’s Week for the five days she spent creating the first five of the six. Every four years, they celebrate six days because on the fourth year of being on Alcardia, she created the last of the six original beings.

Serdweald – A continent on Alcardia.

Svaemal – A Wyrdhan word for gateway. Kaidan was trying to figure out what Banach meant in her diary in some areas because she kept switching between using this word and bodashel, which means pathway. The confusion occurred because the context didn’t differentiate between the two words even though there is usually a differentiation between the two in Wyrdhan.

Telfie – A small flying creature with fur that changes colors to fit its mood. They enjoy eating fruit and small flying eels, and they like to chew on leather whenever they can find it.

Teobhor – The mad bard from Faeridhia who told Kaidan and Zerua not to go to Ashkarith.

The Breaking – The Breaking occurred at a point in Alcardia’s earlier history when the continents divided into smaller continents, leaving Alcardia with the land masses it has today.

The Son of Shadows – A descendant of Rith who is foretold to have his spirit and his ability. This descendant is prophesied to be the one to finally bring down what Sedra worked so hard to build and the lies she told.

Un-Inherent – Someone who doesn’t have an inherent power source to fuel their ability. They can still use magic, but they must draw on the life force and power of living things besides themselves.

Valmurith – The surname for Sedra, Rith, and Albrith.

Wyrdhan – The original language spoken by Alcardians. The language has since broken down into other languages, but Argos, Aleshtain, and several other nearby kingdoms still speak some dialect of it.

Yarkiv Krivash – One of King Faolrian’s Imperial Knights. Serves under Alrian Haridan.

Zerua – One of the original six. She is worshiped as the goddess of the air.

Zerua Tadegan – A Seeker and Kaidan Tadegan’s wife.

Zeruains – Direct descendants from Zerua’s line. Usually employed as artisans, jewelers, and weapon craftsmen.

Ariel Paiement and The Bane of Ashkarith – An Interview with Joanna White

Ariel Paiement

Hey everyone, sorry this is so behind on updates for the blog tour! The last few days have been chaotic for me. So I’ll be posting up the blog posts done in the last few days tonight so you can all see where I’ve been hosted and what’s been going on.

This one was for yesterday, and Joanna White, a good author friend of mine, hosted me for an interview. She had some really great (and challenging) questions for me, and I loved working through them. Go check it out and take a look at her books. She’s a fantasy author, and her book Hunter released about a month ago while her second book, Shifter, released at the beginning of this month.

Read it here.

Sunday Sub-Genres: Mythic Fantasy

Ariel Paiement

Introduction

This week on Sunday Sub-Genres, we’re taking a look at mythic fantasy. This is the sub-genre of fantasy that most pulls on fantasy’s mythological origins, though it isn’t always in the way that people would expect. The genre is as likely to use obvious mythological origins like Robin Hood or King Arthur as it is to create something completely new. The sub-genre has a lot going for it if you like works with strong magical elements and lots of mythical creatures. So, let’s take a look!

Defining Mythic Fantasy

Mythic fantasy is defined as fantasy that deals with the same themes as traditional myths but with (potentially) different names and powers of gods or mythological creatures that differ in some way from their traditional counterparts.

That’s a bit of a mouthful, I know. Basically, the extent to which mythic fantasy veers away from traditional mythology is up to the author, but it almost always contains some clash of the gods with the fate of the world in the balance. How this works out is also subject to a lot of interpretation. Some authors choose to pit gods from two differing cultures against each other, while others may choose to have gods from the same culture clash. Heroes may even line up behind the warring factions to add to the chaos further.

Writing Mythic Fantasy

Writing mythic fantasy gives individuals a large degree of space to build their world and setting in a variety of ways. If you like to create cultures that are built entirely around a deity or pantheon, this is a great option because mythic fantasy definitely requires that.

Let’s take a look at some of the unique parts of writing mythic fantasy.

Magic

The level of magic in mythic fantasy is very high. If the character isn’t human, it will have magic or some other fantastical trait. It just will. This means that if you aren’t going to use the traditional mythological creatures, you’ve got some serious world-building ahead of you.

This sounds fun to some people, but I know at least a few who read this are cringing. If you don’t like world-building, you can make your life easier on this front by using the traditional mythological creatures. But you won’t entirely get out of world-building because there’s your pantheon to consider if you choose to use new gods or goddesses.

Character Complexity

This is an area where things really can swing to some extremes. No matter what you do, characters will be complex. The question is just which ones will be. In mythic fantasy, there’s two options. Either the gods are highly complex, fleshed-out characters and the humans are basically non-complex pawns… Or the humans are so complex that they can drive the movements of the gods themselves. How you play it is really up to you and how you want to tell the story. Either leads to some interesting results.

Plot Complexity

If you’re looking for something that’s easy or middle-of-the-road, mythic fantasy isn’t your cup of tea. Plot lines in mythic fantasy can often be obscure or extremely tangled right up to the end, and like the myths they hark back to, every thread of the plot contains meaning.

Those who really enjoy mythology are the ones most likely to enjoy this genre both as readers and writers, though others who like complexity in plot may also like this type of fantasy. If you don’t like any of these things, chances are pretty high that mythic fantasy won’t be your thing.

Violence

This is a fairly significant point because mythic fantasy is different from a lot of other fantasy sub-genres. The violence here isn’t going to be overly gory or descriptive in most cases. You’re going to get some drownings at sea and a few lightning bolts tossed, but it won’t be cutthroat. It’ll be like the myths are. Sure, there’s violence. But it’s not described in gory detail.

Conclusion

Those are the key points of writing mythic fantasy. This can be a really fun genre to write if you enjoy complexity and world-building. If you enjoy neither, you probably won’t have much fun reading or writing this sub-genre. I’ve included some examples of mythic fantasy below. As always, I’ve marked books I haven’t read with two stars if I’m unsure of the reading level and one star if it isn’t appropriate for children and younger teens.

Further Reading

Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid and The Lost Hero

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion

**Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalon

*Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn Trilogy (best for ages 13+)

*Terry Brooks’ Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold (ages 13+)

*Tad Williams’ Shadowmarch

Richard Adams’ Watership Down

Work-In-Progress Wednesdays #10

Ariel Paiement

For this week’s Work-In-Progress Wednesday, I’ve got an excerpt from On Anarchy’s Wings. In this section, Awnia has confronted Dabhan about Iradia’s refusal to help them and has asked him to help convince Iradia to stop rebelling against the King.

~~~

Awnia rose, turning to face Dabhan. He leaned against the door-frame of the mansion’s drawing room, his long legs crossed. “How good of you to visit, Nia.”

She lowered her head. How dare he behave this way after all he’d done? “I should have you arrested. But I’m going to give you one more chance to be the man you once were.”

“Are you, now?” Dabhan pushed away from the door and strode into the room. He knelt in front of her and reached out to brush a stray curl away from her face. “Fascinating. Just how do you plan on doing that?”

She smacked his hand away from her face. “Keep your hands off me.”

“Why?” Dabhan rose and ambled to the fireplace, picking up the fire poker to stoke the burning coals.

Why? Because his touch made her skin crawl. Because she wasn’t his. Because she was someone else’s. Just like she had been back when he’d first touched her. “You have no right to. That’s why.”

He stiffened. “I have as much right as—”

“No.” She straightened, her fingers clenching into fists in her lap. “You do not. I don’t belong to you. I never have. I never will.”

“Then it seems our interests do not cross, my lady.” Dabhan clenched the poker tighter and turned to her with a sly smile. “What do you want of me?”

“What I’ve wanted since I first came here to parlay. I want you to convince Iradia to join forces with Gabriel. Eclesia is facing the largest threat in her history. We have to be united.”

“No.”

“No?” Awnia rose from her chair, her nails digging into her palms. “I don’t think you understand, Dabhan. If you help, I can get you pardoned for your part in this. You can claim she made you do it.” She narrowed her eyes. Surely he wouldn’t refuse knowing his life was on the line. “But if you won’t help, then you’re going to be executed for treason. No questions asked.”

He shrugged and turned back to the fire. “How is our beloved King, anyway?”

“Fine, no thanks to you.”

Dabhan snorted. “The poison isn’t through with him yet. They’ve only burned out the plant-based portion.”

Icy fingers crept down Awnia’s back. “What did you just say?”

“They’ve only burned out the plant-based portion.” Dabhan placed the poker back in the rack beside the fireplace and turned to face her. “The magic-based portion will begin to work in a few days when he’s beginning to recover fully.”

Her chest tightened. They hadn’t saved him at all. He was still dying. They just hadn’t known it. Her fists trembled against her sides. “How do I reverse it?”

“Reverse it?” Dabhan tapped his chin with a sly grin. “You don’t. Maybe I will.”

She searched his face. What was his game? Was this another clever ploy to force them to cave to Iradia’s demands? “What do you want?”

He strode closer.

Awnia backed up, tipping her chin higher. Her heart raced in her breast, but she held her poise. He wouldn’t have the satisfaction of seeing her fear. Men like Dabhan thrived on fear and control. She’d seen it plenty of times. And she wouldn’t fall prey to his trap. “What. Do. You. Want?” Each word burst from her like a bullet from one of Earth’s machine guns. Sharp. Quick.

Dabhan took another step forward.

She took one back. Two could play at this game. She’d wait him out until he saw the game was pointless and told her his price for fixing his mess.

Her back hit the wall. When had their drawing room become so tiny? It hadn’t been this small when she’d received her late husband’s guests here. Had it?

Dabhan pressed close until she could feel every hard plane of his muscular body. He lowered his head close to her ear, his nose brushing the rim. “Simple. I want you. Marry me.”

~~~

That’s all for this week, everyone. What are you all working on? Feel free to share it in the comments below! Have feedback to share on my work or someone else’s? You can leave that in the comments too. Just remember to keep everything polite and constructive!

Until next time, everybody!

Bane of Ashkarith Blog Tour – The System of Deities

Ariel Paiement

I know this has been a subject of particular interest for several Christian authors who are friends of mine. The biggest question has been, how do you handle God and deities in your books since you’re a Christian? That’s then followed up with where I draw lines with it since I am a Christian. So, we’re going to talk about the system of deities for Bane of Ashkarith as well as a little about how I usually handle the idea of other gods in my writing.

Deities in Alcardia and Bane of Ashkarith

To begin with, Bane of Ashkarith is not a Christian fantasy novel. It is written with Christian values embedded into it in many ways because no writer ever separates their beliefs entirely from their writing. My Christian worldview definitely shapes and constrains my writing differently than other worldviews would have.

But because it isn’t a Christian fantasy novel, I ran into a decision. What did I do with the idea of deities and gods in the world. After all, fantasy often involves some sort of pantheon or belief system. I could’ve left it out, but this would’ve made the world of Alcardia seem less realistic because what people group doesn’t have beliefs?

So, I chose to create religions and gods for them to worship. However, Alcardia is a bit different from the norm when it comes to its gods. Many of them never existed. People created them to explain natural phenomena, much like people have in Earth’s past when they worshiped the god of the Nile or the sun god. It allowed them a way to explain what they otherwise couldn’t.

For those that did exist, they weren’t actually gods in the first place. The lore surrounding them got started because these other beings were far more powerful than anyone could conceive of, so it was assumed they were gods. In that way, then, Alcardia really doesn’t have any gods at all. Not ones that exist or still live, anyway.

That’s how I’ve chosen to handle the situation of other gods in the various Alcardia novels. There is a One God that some of the people on Alcardia do worship, but since the planet was populated by a woman who believed she was a god, the information the people have on that god is minimal at best. This God is meant to represent the God of the Bible but isn’t referred to often because so few believe in Him or even know about Him.

General Rules of Thumb for Fantasy

But what about other novels and answering the question of dealing with pantheons when I’m a Christian? For me, I usually follow a few simple rules.

First, if the planet is entirely unconnected to Earth with Earth not even being an existing thing for the universe, I’m okay with the creation of deities. There’s no reason that this other universe wouldn’t have its own beliefs and even a creator because things don’t just start from nothing.

The second rule I follow is for those worlds that connect with Earth. If that’s the case, again, creation of a pantheon is okay, but here I don’t ever show interference or confirmation of those pantheon members’ existence. Basically, they’re just religious fabrications or people who were given more status than they should’ve been.

If there is a deity that actually interferes, then there will only be one, and that deity is meant to represent God. He may go by a different name in the world if it isn’t Earth, but it will be clear that it’s the Christian God being represented.

Usually, though, I just choose to go with bringing deities in as little as possible. They’re there to give a sense of realism and life to the world and to provide interesting cultural references or curses if needed. They may also be woven into the culture, but I never give reason to believe they’re real, as I mentioned earlier.

The final rule is for stories that take place solely on Earth. For these, I don’t create deities. First of all, there’s not much reason to because we have plenty of them to choose from already. Second, if it’s based on Earth mainly and that’s where the people are from, the only deity I’m going to show as being truly a god is the Christian God. That’s just how I do things because I’m a Christian.

Honestly, though, I haven’t really run into this one much because I rarely write fantasy that takes place on Earth. Earth may be a feature, but it usually isn’t the main setting, so the books all fall into either the first or second category.

Conclusion

So, that’s how I deal with the creation of gods and goddesses both in general and in the Alcardian universe. I’m happy to discuss this with people further if anyone has more specific questions. This is, as I mentioned earlier, just how I do things. I read a lot of fantasy that doesn’t adhere to these rules, but I prefer to keep things black and white morally and religiously in these ways so that no one can get confused about my worldview or what I believe.

I feel it’s the fairest representation of myself and the fairest way to be honest with readers. The goal is that no one has to wonder what the worldview or message is of the book.

I’m not trying to shove any of my beliefs down a reader’s throat, and I’m also not going to try to hide it in the story so that people swallow it without realizing they did. It is what it is, and my hope is that it’s clear and un-hidden while still allowing for the reader to enjoy the story.

At the end of the day, my goal is to write something that can be enjoyed by lovers of fantasy everywhere regardless of their beliefs. I know I can’t be all things to everyone, but I want to craft something that many people can enjoy, not just a narrow band of people.