Godslost | 1

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What is Godslost?

You may have noticed that there’s lots of talk about Godslost these days. Well, perhaps I should temper that – Godslost hasn’t made it to the Twittersphere yet, but it gets talked about on this website a bit.

Anyway, there are probably some important questions to answer like:

• What is Godslost?
• Where did it come from?
• And why is it called Godslost?

Well, let’s take them one at a time shall we? Here we go…

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What is Godslost?

Put simply, it is the world in which these stories are written. Or for a more technically correct answer, it is the continent where these stories are written. Are there other continents? That’s a question for another day.

If you’ve read older books (namely Dusk is Coming, Sword of Destiny, or perhaps even Fear’s Union), you may have come across the term l’Unna. Well, that’s the same thing except the name is fairly terrible. I think Godslost is better – hopefully you agree.

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Where did it come from?

I was on holiday, just minding my own business, trying to ignore the kids, and it popped into my head. You may think that’s weird, and I’d be inclined to agree with you, but kids will do that. There’s only so many times I can take being asked where the next ice cream is coming from…

But it wasn’t completely random. The whole world-space of these books needed a bit of a rethink, for both reader accessibility purposes and also for branding. If The Breaking of l’Unna pops up on Amazon, it’s unlikely to draw much attention. The Breaking of Godslost may at least raise an eyebrow!

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Why is it called Godslost?

This is where it gets interesting. Hopefully you’ve taken the opportunity to read the Short Story of Godslost: Dusk is Coming. That story tells of the children’s fairy tale where the gods (or in particular one god called Kunate – I’m not convinced on that name either) revolt and nearly send the world into perpetual darkness. Well, after this cataclysm, the world loses two of its gods, namely:

• The Father, father of gods, drifts into the shadows out of embarrassment for the cataclysm that occurred on his watch. He can still be seen as a moon, but he is big and ghostly and distant.
• The Stranger, otherwise (and perhaps temporarily) known as Kunate, is exiled to the edge of the universe where he broods as a red star pulsing in the sky.

That leaves only five of the original seven godly wardens of the world, and hence the people of the world have come to call it Godslost. Simple really, and a bit of a surprise that it took so long to think of.

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Bonus Question: why seven gods?

There always seem to be seven gods, don’t there? There are seven gods in Game of Thrones, and when you see the seven of Godslost (below), you may think they seem a bit familiar. But they were conceived independently, I promise, and it’s all a big coincidence. Great minds think alike and all…

Anyway, the seven of Godslost are:

• The Father (also Father of Fortune & The Departed)
• Mother Bright (i.e. the sun)
• The Uncle (also the Wise)
• The Brother (the Brash, and also a favourite with those who like an explitive)
• The Sister (or Solemn Sister, goddess of grieving)
• Friendly Finder (who hangs over the Eastern horizon and is a favourite with sailors for obvious reasons)
• The Stranger

If you want more on the gods, then stay tuned to this blog post. After years of hoarding thoughts in my head or on digital paper, I’m going to make an effort to get stuff written down properly here – making myself accountable or something like that!