#Alluari

[gaildoesdraws]

Outlines for Prince Alaezel and Alluari! Going to have to fiddle around with the line weight in some parts (we haven't thickened his silhouette like we usually do yet) but it's a really promising start.

[gailynovelry]

Diversity win! The world was created through yuri.

[gailynovelry]

I’m really vibing with how Rhimn’s gods interact with their holy places!

A priest on Rhimn is just someone who maintains a holy place. For instance, since Regent Elaina’s citadel is claimed by Gardhe, the cleaning staff are unofficial priests (though Elaina and Gardhe have several nobles declared priests instead). Courtfather Snow and several of the Frostbiter children such as Merlie are also unofficial priests, since they maintain a small shrine to the Romne by their manor.

Some priests are official dubbed as such by their gods. These ones are usually instructed to take something small from the shrine, like a pebble, and acorn, or a coin, in order to stay in contact with the god.

(Normally, only a Herald can talk directly to their god, but if you’re by a god’s temple or shrine, there’s a small chance that they’ll chat with you.)

Silamir is the most “chatty” god, because several aeons alone in the void of reincarnation have left her starved for attention, but she has very few holy places to speak through.

Alluari is pretty easy easy to talk to if you’re in Ullua. She has a shrine in most villages and deems it essential to hear out local problems, since you never know what local problem could be part of a larger issue for her Herald to address.

The Romne only talk if they have some business with you. Since they are gods of prophecy, this is not always a good thing.

Gardhe is very selective about who he speaks with. He watches everyone in his holy places, but unless he has a good reason, he prefers to converse only with Gadhian nobles.

I am not enjoying this book’s world building so please someone share with me some world building they really like about their wips and I’ll be a nerd about it with you

[gailynovelry]

Sometimes, we are a very good and tidy writer who knows all the lore of his story and executes it on command.

And sometimes we spend several hours trying to figure out the clothing situation for Prince Alaezel's torso region before finally remembering the royal uen he wears that is the most prominent part of his outfit descriptions.

[gailynovelry]

so gods have a taste

Yep, fun fact about the gods of Rhimn; they all have a taste! Gods really aren’t meant to be directly processed by a mortal mind. They “break the senses a little,” as Navaeli puts it. So people who directly contact gods experience wild things like;

When he looked into [Alluari’s] eyes, Meparik tasted petrichor and cold water, saw stars when he blinked, and felt an otherworldly comfort envelop him. He felt a strange urge to weep. As if he’d lost a close relative, and needed someone to confide in. 

and

“And you are still here, right?” [Thah] said. As they spoke, Crislie tasted warmth and the bitterness of acorn gall. “Please say something.” 

and

Neither Atevia nor Jayreth relaxed until the Regent was out of sight. And even then, Atevia was aware of a hot, metallic taste in the air. Gardhe was watching, no doubt waiting to see if they’d talk ill of the Regent behind her back.

and

“[Silamir’s] presence tastes like ash, bone, and darkness. Conclude what you will from that.”

It’s all very dependent on which god you’re in contact with and what their domain is. Some gods are more pleasant to experience than others.

[gailynovelry]

5 and 9 for Crislie? :D

5. How did you figure out your oc's identity?

In stages, slowly, over time!

I started writing Heralds of Rhimn when I was about fourteen-fifteenish, and the thing about a story you start at fifteen is that it's probably going to change a lot as you change. It's pretty wild to remember this now, but originally;

There were five main characters, all the same age.

No gods, oddly enough.

Crislie's weapon was a sword, not an ax, because she was The Mainest Character and everybody knows that's who you give the sword to in tropey YA stories.

Navaeli was a boy. (And half-dragon!)

Meparik was Crislie's love interest, not Navaeli! That's probably the weirdest thing that was going on with these early drafts.

So, Crislie started off with two base identity traits; girl (pugnacious) and boyliker (romantic).

Over time, I adapted the story and shifted things around. The extra main characters got ported over to Toybox (Saph & Vio!), Meparik aged down, Crislie & Vae aged up and subsequently paired up.

By that point, I'd wised up to the fact that i was a girlliker and that girlliking was Fine Actually. So I began to think to myself . . . was if . . . Navaeli was girl . . . and what if . . . girl kissed other girl still? And that's how Navaeli became metatextually (and textually, but that doesn't get talked about until later in the series) trans! And also how Crislie became bi.

As I started to write their relationship, I realized that they were both approaching their attraction differently. Navaeli was quietly thirsty under the surface. Meanwhile, Crislie . . . didn't have that? At first I thought I was writing the chemistry wrong.

Then it kind of hit me like a brick; Crislie does like Navaeli, she's just not thinking that much about it in a "becky lemme smash" way. So I plonked "ace" down at the end of her label, and bam. Bi ace.

And also poly now that Gildhe has entered the picture.

And also maybe not just girl now that I'm exploring the wyfwolf thing?

Gender on Rhimn is it's own neon-labeled can of trolli gummy worms, so I think I'll touch on it in the next question!

9. Are there cultural or lore specific aspects to their identity? If applicable, does their species affect it?

At the beginning, there wasn't, but now there is.

Okay, so! There are a few important things to know about how Rhimn does gender;

Rhimn is matriarchal. This was true before the Reckoning, and is still true afterward.

For "Alluari had a bad time after the Reckoning and took it out on a whole gender" reasons, conservative parts of Ullua are very strict about gender roles.

For "technically the god ruling us is a Guy, therefore let's pretend that Sexism is Solved" reasons, Gadhi generally doesn't think too hard about its gender norms, even when it should.

(TBH I think Gardhe has the same sense of gender as Nathaniel Finch, ie "it is irrelevant to me but you can call me he, sure." Diversity win, the main antagonist is agender!)

For a variety of reasons (lots of intersex fey, culture of picking their own names & genders, being seen as being below/above human social norms, etc), gender nonconformity is more accepted in feyries than humans.

Due to the influence of feyrie culture, Rhimn has four separate gender categories; male, female, ungendered, and bestial.

The categories are generally associated with he/him, she/her, they/them, and it/its pronouns respectively, but that's not universal. Most wyfwolves consider themselves bestial but use she/her, and Tincre identifies as ungendered while using it/its.

I am probably going to write some in-universe sociology papers about the gender stuff, but bestial in particular is an interesting gender!

It would probably be considered nonbinary/xenogender on Earth, along with the ungendered category, but it's actually grouped more closely with female on Rhimn. Both femininity and feral gender norms lean on aggression. Also, Lykari, the divine being most associated with this gender, is still verifiably a goddess, though not a lady about it.

(Also connects to why Meparik gets "he acts femininely how cute" comments in Ullua; Meparik doesn't necessarily identify as the bestial gender, but he doesn't identify as a human, certainly, and his pent-up aggression gets interpreted in some different ways.)

I think at some point in Book Four, Crislie's going to end up in a conversation with Tincre & some of its students about Actually We Have Four Gender and go "Huh. Kinda into this new gender, actually."

So! Bestial gender Crislie! Yeah!

[gailynovelry]

So uh. Gods as parents (love them) (fear them) (they shaped you) (they had a history long before you) (they don't tell you half as much as you think they should) (you are a part of their history now) (they want what is best for you) (or it is what is best for them?) (you tremble against their authority) (you want them to be okay as much as they want it for you) (they have expectations) (you have doubts) (do you want to be a part of this household?)

Relevant excerpts from Heralds of Rhimn;

Silamir shrugged, a single predatory motion that stemmed as much from her spine as her shoulders. “I told you what you wanted to hear, did I not? I answered your question.” “That is not enough.” “Then you do it because I am a higher power,” the goddess stated simply. “You are the flesh of my soul. I gave you your second birth. I brought you back from death. Without me, you would not even be alive to slander my name. It is your duty to raise yourself up in my eyes. And currently, you are trying my patience.” Navaeli shook her head. Her voice shook too. “No. Give me a real reason.”

—Shadow Herald, CH 30

“That is what I am counting on, and that is why I will give you my blessing in your endeavors. Now, that should be our promise to Iriah fulfilled,” the god said, seeming to speak to themself as their sketch relaxed into its original pose. “And before summer’s end at that.” “Hold up — who’s Iriah? What promise?” Crislie waited with an agonizing patience for the artwork to move again and explain itself. But Thah’s sketch had stilled. She once again had the sneaking suspicion that they were deliberately withholding things from her. Prophesy, as a concept, had always disturbed her. It raised more questions about the nature of reality than it would ever answer. “You can’t just start telling me important things and not clarify a lick of it. Vague little bastard,” she muttered, kicking the wall.

—Winter Herald, CH 14

“The gods have vast minds, old minds, minds filled with the movement of nature and civilization,” the wife said with a patient shake of her head. “You have to forgive them if they cannot remember everything you tell them. It’s like I have to remind my old ajk jhuura — bless her — to comb her hair every morning.”

—Ember Warrior, CH 15

Upon receiving the offering, the goddess’ presence stirred, like an old beast rolling over in its lair. Crislie tasted blood again. “Kin,” echoed brightly amid the rocks. “Good evening, Grandmother,” Ellie said. “Good rest?” The voice grew soft with longing. “Dreamt moonlight. Dreamt dim. Dreamt starlight.” “Aye, an old dream then. You can rest easy now when we leave. We’re dedicating another hunt to you, and that oughta give you good dreams for a while.” [. . .] Ellie butted her head affectionately against the moonrocks, and bowed away. “Dream of full bellies and naps under the open sky next, mmmkay?” “Dreaming of you.” “D’aww.”

—Ember Warrior, CH 22

She approached the altar with a slinking trepidation, her voice barely above a whisper. She didn’t want Ellie to hear this. “Why? Why did you do this to me?” “Arm my kin. With teeth, with claws. Survive for me.” Her claws clicked against the stone as she paced. “Is that your answer? Really? Is it? I was already armed. I’ll have you know, I’m no good with reverence, if that’s a thing you expect. I don’t trust gods. Don’t have any good reason to, not after all the horrible things you guys keep doing and doing to everyone I know. I’m sick and tired of it.” “Trust . . .” The goddess trailed off, voice fragmenting, before gathering her full thought. “Trust people?” “Gods aren’t people.” “Trust people?”

—Ember Warrior, CH 22

I did forget to take my sleep medicine last night, so I’m a little funny today, but; gods as parents. I will elaborate later.

[gailynovelry]

Every god on Rhimn but one knows who Crislie is, personally, and that is not a good thing.

Gardhe, the sun god; • Recognizes her from when she tried to kill Regent Elaina. • Knows that she protects Navaeli. • Tried to trap her in a doomed temple of his. • Wants her very dead. Overall; not good!

Silamir, goddess of rebirth; • Knows her through Navaeli. • Doesn’t necessarily want Crislie dead, but is perfectly willing to use Crislie as a means to manipulate Navaeli. • Likes that Crislie gives her attention (angry attention), because she spent a lot of time alone in the void and is pretty desperate for acknowledgement. • Would 100% keep Crislie around as an amusement. Overall; somehow even worse than Gardhe.

The Romne, gods of the seasons; • Know her mostly through Meparik. • Also know her through their gift of prophecy, which doesn’t bode well! • Tries to steer her into doing particular things, which she isn’t terribly fond of. • “Vague little bastards.” Overall; not bad, but definitely suspicious.

Lykari, goddess of the ruined moon; • Is introduced to Crislie through Da and the Lycarious Court. • Is just a fractured fragment of what she used to be, so like Fraihz, she’s a little difficult to communicate with. • Likes Crislie though! Loves it when her followers show her their pups. • But also turns Crislie into a werewolf without asking first. Overall; ???

Alluari, goddess of starlight and rain; • Doesn’t know Crislie at all, which is a shame since this is the only god with zero interest in interfering with her narrative agency.

[gailynovelry]

Ember Warrior Peek!

I'm supposed to be working on Frostbitten Prophet right now, but I had a flash of inspiration for the third book in the series instead, Ember Warrior. Have a bit of Mep accidentally meeting a goddess!

In the middle of the fountain was a statue of a woman, hewn out of celestial quartz. The quartz shimmered in blues, purples, and blacks. Glints of light danced off of it, like tiny stars. While the statue’s carved head was bald, there was a little hole in the top of her skull, and water flowed from it like hair.

The architecture was beautiful but alien to Meparik. He’d never seen anything like it.

Suddenly, the statue moved. She cocked her head at him, water falling over her face. Her eyebrows and mouth furrowed in calm confusion. When he looked into her eyes, Meparik tasted petrichor and cold water, saw stars when he blinked, and felt an otherworldly comfort envelop him. He felt a strange urge to weep. As if he’d lost a close relative, and needed someone to confide in.

A voice issued from the statue, flowing like water. “Why do you pray to me, child?”

Alluari was talking to him.

Crislie meets a god too, but it goes, uhhhh, a little more poorly than this, which is pretty par for the course for her.

Taglist(?): @viawrites-andacts

[gailynovelry]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! :D What languages are spoken in your world?

There’s three main languages on Rhimn. There’s Gadhian, Ulluic (Ulluik in Ullua), and Gesture (known as Reteirik in Ullua). The first two are just the main spoken languages of Gadhi and Ullua respectively. The third is Ullua’s military handsign, which eventually got adopted by the deaf and hard of hearing. There’s also a variety of smaller languages spoken by more isolated feirie Courts in the deep woods of Gadhi, and different versions of Gesture that’ve been adopted by deaf or hard of hearing folks up north.

(With Vaerin’s help, Mepari develops his own version of Gesture before he later learns Ulluic and standard Gesture.)

You could count the “language of the gods” as a language too, but… well, it’s difficult to quantify how they speak as being language in the same way we experience it. Even when they’re speaking in mortal tongues, gods shatter the senses. When they talk to their Herald, the Herald experiences some decidedly non-auditory sensations, like tastes, smells, and temperature shifts.

How Vaerin experiences her goddess: “The silky feminine [voice], the one which sounded like clawed hands gripping her shoulders, the one that smelled of crushed bones and fermenting fruit.”

What Mepari experiences when his god speaks: “There was a reluctant murmuring in the back of his mind. Mepari listened closely, but he couldn’t make out the words, if it was composed of words at all. His tongue tasted bitter, as if he’d bitten down on an acorn.”

What Elaina hears from Gardhe: “The summons — uttered in a voice deep and commanding, barely human in form, a voice that tasted of smelting iron and heat — dragged Regent Elaina from the soft shadows of her sleep.”

Alluari speaking to her Herald: “Her voice sounded like the faint drum of rain off a rooftop, cold and clean, tinged with petrichor. Myshka always found it reassuring.”

Thanks for the ask!

[gailynovelry]

August Writing Dash: Day 5!

Starting Wordcount: 29,000.

Ending Wordcount: 30,000.

Chapter Finished?: None specific.

Eating: Hashbrown casserole. Mmmm.

Spent most of my wordcount on the end of Chapter Five, and a little bit on the beginning of Chapter Three. Think I finally figured out where that one is going! Sometimes, Navaeli chapters are harder to hash out; a lot of the things going on with her are more subtle than with Crislie or Meparik, given their more direct problems and problemsolving techniques.

Speaking of Crislie's problems . . . there's a content warning for this excerpt! I'm not always sure about what needs to be tagged and what doesn't, but I think that a severed head definitely needs a tag.

Excerpt under the cut;

One of the wyfwolves swiftly returned with a severed head of her own, clenched victoriously between her jaws. Through the matted, bloodstained hair, Crislie saw the gold-beaded hairjeweling of Gadhi’s merchant nobles.

“Wonderful work, Duvha!” one of the wyfwolves cheered.

Aunt Duvha spat out the head in disgust and shook herself, shedding her fur for her human form — a slim, unassuming Ulluan woman. Another wyfwolf woman wrapped a cloak around her and handed her an uen. Her mouth and hair was smeared with crimson blood, and her snarl quivered with a ferocity that faded a little more with every slow, calm breath.

“When Regory Draye and his slimy son next return to Rhimn, I pray to Alluari and Lykari that they do so as worms,” Aunt Duvha said, finally wiping the blood from her mouth with a weary grin.

“As slugs, even.”

“As the moss beneath your paws!” Gildhe called out, ever-helpful.

“So we’ll bury him like a bone, and deny him his cremation?” a wyfwolf with earth-coated paws suggested, wagging her tail hopefully.

“He doesn’t deserve one of our burials,” Aunt Duvha refuted.

“Then we’ll leave him in the woods. Once the wild game feeds on him, he’ll have finally contributed something worthwhile to our community.”

Crislie watched impassively as the wyfwolves continued to take care of each other — only snapping out of her own stupor as one of them tentatively handed her a washcloth wetted from their own canteen.

“Here,” the woman said. She was stout and blonde, yet another one of these too-many-to-keep-track of Aunts. Aunt Cera, maybe? “Wipe some of that off of you.”

Crislie took it with a dazed blink and snuck a glance at herself in a nearby puddle. Her own appearance was marred and damp with flecks of gore and sweat. Dirt-spackled, tangle-haired, and wild-eyed. Daughi’s image, hovering over her right shoulder, was much the same. They could be kin too, were they not human and wolf.

“Thanks.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Aunt Cera added, before handing another cloth to Gildhe.

[gailynovelry]

Ulluan Naming Conventions:

Ulluic surnames are typically passed down matrilineally, except for some very rare and specific edgecases where a dwindling noble family only has sons left to continue the line.

(If you’re wlw or mlm, you basically get to pick which of your names goes to your kids. Again, unless you’re nobility. The noble house with the least members will then pass on their name.)

Ullua is vast and less culturally authoritarian/uniform than Gadhi, so there are many different traditions for first names. Some of the more dominant ones are; letting the mother pick the first name, naming firstborns after a grandmother, asking Alluari or the Romne for suggestions at a local shrine, and gifting the child a water-based name for good fortune.

[gailynovelry]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! Tell us about the stars in your world building. Are there myths or legends about the constellations? What do they believe is up there? Has anyone ever been up there? Is space travel old hat? Tell us all about it! (I am so sorry about the random "ask" about how my baking is going XD)

Oooh, fun!

There’s plenty of constellations in Rhimn’s sky, but it’s the stars themselves with a mythology behind them;

“I at least got to hear some of Da’s stories about the gods,” Crislie said. “Is it true, that the stars are some of the gods who died in the Immortal Reckoning — the ones Gardhe bloodforged to his hammers?”

Vaerin nodded. “I did ask the Voice about that. Once.” It had been years ago, like most of the times she had actively sought out conversation with her goddess. “In the time when she wandered the earth, much was different. Wild animals were as tame as mortal men. Other mortalkinds roamed Rhimn, ones besides humans and fei. There was more than one continent above the waves. And yes, the night sky was as black and starless as the storm-ridden sea. Well, black but for its two moons.”

The girl squinted up at the sky. “There’s only one moon, Vaerin.”

“That is because Alluari is the only moon goddess left — she used to have a sister.”

Space travel hasn’t happened on Rhimn yet, nor will it ever. Not because the technology will never be there (unless it destroys itself, society will eventually march on in the name of progress) but because there’s nothing up there to explore. Rhimn is the only world in an empty universe. It circles a lone sun, surrounded by far smaller stars. The gods themselves can confirm that space is empty but for those fiery beacons.

Instead of space travel, scientists in Rhimn’s future will probably explore the mysterious and quite-scary ocean.

(Also, no problem about the baking! I’m eating a cheesy croissant as we speak, ^-^)

[gailynovelry]

Writeblr Life Week — Characters

So, I am of the firm belief that a character that doesn’t serve the needs of the story needs to be axed immediately. So while my Shadow Herald series has a lot of named characters, most of them appear more than once, and their relationships string out as a complicated spider-web mesh of trust and mistrust, protection and vengeance.

It’s easiest for me to sort the characters of Shadow Herald into factions with their opposing wants and needs.

Firstly, you have the gods. They tend to dictate the factions farther down the line.

Gardhe: The sun god, and an arrogant bastard who killed 99% of the other gods so that he could be the sole god of Rhimn. He rules Gadhi. As the fei were an accidental consequence of him killing the other gods, he’s annoyed that they exist in the first place.

The Romne: are the twin gods of the seasons, and are aligned with the fei. Fraihz is the god of winter. Thah is the god of summer. They’re not really fighters, but they are the most patient gods, and use their gifts of prophecy to calculate their next moves.

Alluari: Goddess of the moon and the rain. She rules over Ullua, the desert. She survived Gardhe’s genocidal whims by being his equal in combat, and despite resenting him, has brokered a peace treaty with him so that Ullua and Gadhi can trade with each other.

Silamir: The long-presumed-dead goddess of death, rebirth, and wine. She spent an awful lot of time trapped within the confines of her two remaining temples, and she spent most of it

The Irongardhe are the ruling order of Gadhi. They’re more or less the main antagonists.

Regent Elaina: Gardhe’s Herald. A Herald is more or less a god’s sole high priest. They’re like a queen on a chessboard — powerful to weild, and devastating to lose. She lives in Gadhi’s capital, Talimour, but if she didn’t have so many political obligations, she would be hunting down Vaerin and weeding out the fei herself.

Atevia and Jeidhe: Two of the many knighted nobles that serve the Regent.

There are some Gadhian citizens that aren’t directly Irongardhe or revolutionaries in the Shadow War (Or not at first, anyway).

Ma & Evain Crimsworth: Crislie’s family.

Inkantik: The closest thing Vaerin has to a grandparent. Has a long and rich history as a denounced nobleman, but for the moment, he works as a florist. He also runs a safe house for fei to stay at, either because they’re hiding from the Irongardhe or because they desperately need to be smuggled out of Talimour.

Courtfather Snow: Runs the Frostbiters, one of the feirie Courts that do their best to survive Talimour’s slums. He and Mepari are… at odds, to put it mildly.

Gilde: Mepari’s sibling and Snow’s favorite kid. Kind of a jerk, kind of charming, runs on constant improv mode.

Charlan: A shopkeeper in the Reaches. Tries to get along with every Court at once, and somehow succeeds. Taught Mepari how to read.

There are also the revolutionaries and neutral parties. I can list them, but most don’t pop up in the first book, and I can’t give much detail without spoiling the books after Shadow Herald.

Revolutionaries: Ainzel, Morekai, The Crone (Thah’s Herald), the Wolfmaster, Russet.

Neutral Parties: The Matrius (Alluari’s Herald and ruler of Ullua), Prince Alaezel, Photesie (?).

Good Creatures: Daughi (a direwolf), Lankie (also a direwolf), Lethos (weird little albino crow)

Lastly, that leaves us our protagonists — Vaerin, Crislie, and Mepari.

Vaerin, The Shadow Herald: Vaerin wants a sense of personal agency, and freedom from the mysterious voice in her head. She desperately needs some rest and respite after all she’s been dragged through. At the same time, she is resigned to the fact that this rest is not coming anytime soon. It makes her a bit bitter and complacent at times. Due to Silamir’s invasive influence, she has her fair share of intimacy issues, and worries faintly about being too weak to deserve survival. There’s no end to her dry-witted jabs. Caution is her game, but despite that, she possesses a keen sense of empathy.

Crislie Crimsworth: Crislie is an in-the-moment person who wants a bit of adventure and to see the world. She loathes the idea of being tied to one place or path in life, and while she lives with the vague notion that most people are pleasant folk until proven otherwise, she suspects there is some exciting evil out there for her to vanquish. If there’s anything out there that she hasn’t seen, she wants to see it. She is generally upbeat and often oblivious to the consequences of thrusting herself into danger up until they smack her in the face — a fact that worries Vaerin to no end. She would fight a god if she could.

Mepari of the Frostbiters: Mepari has an independent nature spurred on by a history of taking care of himself in the absence of anyone to personally parent him. Despite his protests otherwise, he really does desire platonic intimacy and emotional warmth. Unfortunately, the ‘intimacy-wanting’ thing doesn’t jive well with the guarded atmosphere of the Reaches, where anyone could suffer a bad encounter with the Irongardhe any day. This Mep is snarky, world-weary, and yet still childish in certain ways — his sense of justice is keen and absolute.

Because of my “minimal character” philosophy all my side-stories have very few characters, especially since they are all stand-alones and not very far along in their process.

Mind Hive has Avery, the main character, Bruce and Natalia, the secondary mains, Vertigo the AI, Avery and Bruce’s unnamed families, and by technicality, the various groups which are hunting Avery down for their own agendas.

She Sells Seashells really only has the main characters, Zuri and Melusine.

Coliseum has only Vev, Fern, and the Sorcerer King that stands against them.

[gailynovelry]

Update: Alluari knows who Crislie is now, and is distantly Concerned.

Every god on Rhimn but one knows who Crislie is, personally, and that is not a good thing.

Gardhe, the sun god; • Recognizes her from when she tried to kill Regent Elaina. • Knows that she protects Navaeli. • Tried to trap her in a doomed temple of his. • Wants her very dead. Overall; not good!

Silamir, goddess of rebirth; • Knows her through Navaeli. • Doesn’t necessarily want Crislie dead, but is perfectly willing to use Crislie as a means to manipulate Navaeli. • Likes that Crislie gives her attention (angry attention), because she spent a lot of time alone in the void and is pretty desperate for acknowledgement. • Would 100% keep Crislie around as an amusement. Overall; somehow even worse than Gardhe.

The Romne, gods of the seasons; • Know her mostly through Meparik. • Also know her through their gift of prophecy, which doesn’t bode well! • Tries to steer her into doing particular things, which she isn’t terribly fond of. • “Vague little bastards.” Overall; not bad, but definitely suspicious.

Lykari, goddess of the ruined moon; • Is introduced to Crislie through Da and the Lycarious Court. • Is just a fractured fragment of what she used to be, so like Fraihz, she’s a little difficult to communicate with. • Likes Crislie though! Loves it when her followers show her their pups. • But also turns Crislie into a werewolf without asking first. Overall; ???

Alluari, goddess of starlight and rain; • Doesn’t know Crislie at all, which is a shame since this is the only god with zero interest in interfering with her narrative agency.

[gailynovelry]

Wait I forgot the funny one;

“My child!” [Alluari] exclaimed, bubbling over with visions of heavy rains clattering against bronze wind chimes. “My favorite creation, my light and joy, I am pleased that you visit me again so soon!” Prince Alaezel clutched the gloves to his chest and startled back. “Ack! Skymother, I love you too, but I have a guest with me!” he signed once he’d recovered from his fright. “Yes, and I know this one. He deserves to know how beloved you are as much as any guard or nursemaid tasked with your wellbeing.” “I-I haven’t had a nursemaid in several years!” “Of course,” the goddess cooed. “Forgive me for forgetting. The time slips by so quickly. I shall blink, and you will be married, and I shall blink again, and you will be starlight-haired, and then when I next blink, I will miss you as dearly as the rest of the departed.”

—Ember Warrior, Ch 24

I did forget to take my sleep medicine last night, so I’m a little funny today, but; gods as parents. I will elaborate later.