Young Writers Society

In the story I'm working on, there are 12 gods. Each god has an opposite(for example- god of life and god of death.) I've jotted down ideas, and so far I have:
1-god of life
2-god of death
3-god of creation
4-god of destruction
5-god of nature
6-god of animals
7-god of earth
8-god of sky
9-god of time
10-god of space
11-god of light
12-god of dark

My problem is that a lot of these are basically the same thing and/or rule in the same area. They are bound to change when I come up with better ideas. If you have some suggestions on something a god can represent, please post them.

(NOTE-6 of these will be goddesses, but I'll figure out which ones later)

Does there need to be exactly 12 Gods, or can you strike some out?

ReisePiecey wrote:Does there need to be exactly 12 Gods, or can you strike some out?

I need at least 12, but no less than that.

Overarching moral alignment (Good/Evil, Jedi/Sith, Selfless/Selfish).

Structural ethical positioning (Order/Chaos, Individualist/Socialist)

Elements (Water/Fire, Earth/Air, Blood/Mana)

Otherwise look at already existing fantasy settings (RPG's like Forgotten realms are a good example) which take their lead from classical pantheons. Often such pantheons don't have opposites, but rather purviews of authority. Wider Purviews (Sky/Sea/Hell) belong to the head honchos (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) but as you work your way down the tree you can get smaller purviews like, wisdom, the hearth, military strategy. Less benevolent alternatives could include personal skill, strife, or ambition.

It really depends on what the Gods get up to, what the job of their collective group is, and why you need 12 of them. There aren't many rules for this kind of thing. If you want to make each of them the Gods of a different species of Raccoon, that's your prerogative.

Rubric wrote:Overarching moral alignment (Good/Evil, Jedi/Sith, Selfless/Selfish).

Structural ethical positioning (Order/Chaos, Individualist/Socialist)

Elements (Water/Fire, Earth/Air, Blood/Mana)

Otherwise look at already existing fantasy settings (RPG's like Forgotten realms are a good example) which take their lead from classical pantheons. Often such pantheons don't have opposites, but rather purviews of authority. Wider Purviews (Sky/Sea/Hell) belong to the head honchos (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) but as you work your way down the tree you can get smaller purviews like, wisdom, the hearth, military strategy. Less benevolent alternatives could include personal skill, strife, or ambition.

It really depends on what the Gods get up to, what the job of their collective group is, and why you need 12 of them. There aren't many rules for this kind of thing. If you want to make each of them the Gods of a different species of Raccoon, that's your prerogative.

Thanks Rubric, those are really good ideas

These are awesome! What's the story about?

This is what I have so far-

GODS:
1) I 7) Z
2) Oz 8 ) I'a
3) Fae 9) J'zu
4) Erza 10) L'vey
5) Cogah 11) N'tiri
6) Xerxes 12) U'amill

The numbers correspond to the numbers on a clock. The number of letters in their names is also deliberate.
Instead of the normal names of months (January, February, March....), the gods represent the months. For example, I is January, Oz is February, Fae is March, and so on.

I is the goddess of Creation, Z is the god of Destruction.
Oz is the god of Time, I'a is the goddess of Space.
Fae is the goddess of Soul, J'zu is the god of Blood.
Erza is the goddess of Chaos, L'vey is the god of Balance.
Cogah is the god of Elements, N'tiri is the goddess of Nature.
Xerxes is the god of Dark, U'amill is the goddess of Light.

As for the story, it's not really about the gods. It's more about their creations. The setting is on a planet called Zwei (pronounced: Zway), which is inhabited by different types of beings. One type is Enerlings and another type is Demis. These two are the main focus of the plot. There is also a type known as "Snow Children," but they are a little different from the other two and their history has a story of its own.

Enerlings are people who can manipulate energy, which is just a fancy way of saying they have powers. Every person only has one power. The strength of a power depends on a person's ability to manipulate energy as well as the amount of energy within. A power is not inherited, but rather the energy and controlling ability are. People born in strong bloodlines (their ancestors had a lot of energy and were good at controlling it) tend to have a really strong power.
Enerlings live in three continents: Revnere. Trentel, and Ainran.

Demis are part human and part animal, and are mostly the work of N'tiri (nature goddess). Some people have more animal parts than others(BTW it is just one animal, not a mix of several). Sometimes a person only has a set of ears and a tail. Other times a person is covered with fur and/or has so many animal parts that it's hard to tell they are just a Demi and not a full bred animal.
A Demi's animal side can also affect their eating habits, causing them to be either a carnivore or omnivore. It also makes them crave certain foods. However, some Demis are not affected at all and can eat whatever they please.
A Demi is usually named after a talent, skill, physical appearance, or personality trait. Changing one's name to fit oneself is very common. In fact, it is UNcommon for someone not to change their name every once in a while. Because a name often describes who you are, some Demi's feel it is too personal to give right away, so it may take a few meetings before someone reveals his or her name.

A little history: Two centuries before the story takes place, Demis had to leave the land they shared with the Enerlings. They sailed across the ocean until they came upon another continent called Salmani, where they established a kingdom.


As for the plot-
The story takes place in Revnere. The protagonist (for now... ) is a 15 year-old Enerling girl named Reyn (pronounced like Rain) with the power to absorb energy. A few years earlier she awoke with no memories of her past, surrounded by the remains of a village. After three years of searching and losing hope of finding out who she is, a women approaches Reyn and claims she knows how to get her memories back. This encounter sends Reyn down a path where her fate is entangled with five others'.
First there's Tomo, a six year-old boy with golden hair and eyes, who also has a set of fox ears and a tail! He acts young and innocent, but Reyn suspects that that he knows more than he lets on...
Next are Onsono and Jartrin, an emotionless 12 year old boy who can see the past and future, and his 16 year old sister who can read minds. Onsono's visions are usually of what has yet to come, but every now and then he sees glimpses of the past that leave the normally apathetic boy shaking and crying in anguish. Whose past is he seeing and what is it about? He refuses to say.
After them is Kurrae, a 17 year old girl with white hair and icy cold eyes. If her appearance and personality isn't enough to give others the chills, then her power to see the dead is. Kurrae claims the dead have been leading her to Reyn, but why?
And then there's Kael, the boy with the power to bring words and pictures to life. Like Reyn, Kael also cannot remember his past. Upon their confrontation, she realizes that an unknown force is setting things into motion, because the day Kael loses his memories is the day he and Reyn meet.

Hm, all the best mythology has a god of chaos and order

Zolen wrote:Hm, all the best mythology has a god of chaos and order

Like Eris!

I'm trying to be original but there is a god for everything!

Anyway, the story is always changing and I'm already thinking about switching a few gods out for something else and/or changing some of their names... I guess typing out my thoughts helps me put things together.