How I Created the Gods

I spent a lot of time crafting the pantheon of gods in my first book. I was careful because of my history and relationship with religion. I wanted to create gods that people would want to exist. I also wanted them to be interesting and fun. I didn’t want some all-knowing being, completely separated from the world and yet completely in control of everything. I didn’t want the powers that be to be aware of the evils of the world and compliant in letting it all happen because it's their will or some kind of destiny. For a while, I toyed with the idea of not having any form of god at all, but in the end I decided that giving the energies of the world voices was integral to my story.  

I decided to create powers that are benevolent, sometimes chaotic, and separate because of what they are. I wanted beings that wanted to help and wanted the best for the world, but had to let the people of the world drive its development and future. For instance, the gods can speak with persons in the world (under the right conditions) and they can take care of what they need to from ‘behind the curtain’ depending on their domain, but they cannot directly control people or take someone’s free will. Their foremost purpose is to act as custodians for the world’s energies, which are maintained by the Well.

The Well is the font from which all energies flow and also the place it returns to in an endless loop of power. Each god has their own relationship with the Well and each other.

The overarching figure is the Well Mother, so named because of her domain and relationship to the other gods. She is feminine-presenting and is seen as the creator of life and the caregiver of not only the world but also the other gods. Her being remains with the Well and she guides it in the gathering and distribution of energies. Magic is said to come from her because of her relationship with the Well. She is often depicted as a figure in a large blue cloak.

The Well Mother has four ‘children’: Sollis, Noctis, Viterra, and Morterra. As she guides the energies of the Well, she also guides her children.

Sollis is god of the day. He is masculine presenting and his domain includes the sun, light, warmth, travel, adventure, wealth, and trade. He is in charge of waking the sun in the morning, taking it away at night, changing the seasons, the weather, wisdom, knowledge, and hard work. He is often depicted with golden hair, a bright smile, tan skin, and wearing golden robes.

Noctis is god of the night. They do not present feminine or masculine, but as nonbinary and gender fluid. Their domain includes the moon, darkness, cold, illusion, rest, and luck. They are in charge of shining the moon in the evening, helping with the seasons and the weather, the night sky, charisma, natural talent, and gambling. They are often depicted as someone with dark skin, pale silver hair, a knowing smirk, and wearing dark violet robes.

Viterra is the god of life. She is feminine presenting and her domain includes beginnings, chaos, plants, animals, fertility, endurance, and health. She is in charge of nature, babies, families, constitution, healing, oceans, rivers, and lakes.  She is often depicted with red hair, fair skin, freckled cheeks, a laughing smile, and wearing green robes.

Morterra is the god of death. He is masculine presenting and his domain includes peace, endings, law and order, grief, and self-sacrifice. He is in charge of the end of any life, mental health, history, instinct, and morals. He is often depicted with dark hair, tan skin, dark eyes, a serious expression, and wearing black robes.

Because they are ‘behind the curtain,’ there isn’t much known about their relationship to each other except what small threads of rumor carried through the war centuries ago, a time when magic was known to all and understood by many. Sollis and Viterra are close, often said to spend time together in folk tales. Noctis and Morterra are more solitary. The Well Mother is mysterious, being even further ‘behind the curtain’ than her children.

I chose a mother and four children because I wanted the relationship between god and believers to be similar to the way a human mother feels for her children. The Well Mother is patient, caring, selfless, flexible, nurturing, resilient, and compassionate. She is strong when she needs to be and soft when she does not. She also encourages these traits in her children. 

Meanwhile, the children carry on with the tasks delegated to them, paying attention to the details of their domains. The god of life is vibrant and wild and the god of death is reserved and methodical. The god of day is bright and strong and the god of night is secretive and alluring. They are what they need to be to best complete their duties.

I built a pantheon based on what my story needed and what I wanted to see. I crafted beings that are complex and also clearly defined within their domains. Your world may call for something simpler or something more complicated. I suggest that when you are creating the powers that be in your world you consider how they affect the plot, your characters, and the setting, but also keep in mind what you think would be cool, because you’re stuck with these gods until the end of your project and they should at least be fun to hang out with while you work.