Oracle: The Jist

There's a lot of fantasy that deals with magic, but little (at least that I've seen) that puts the emphasis on religion instead. So, that's what my focus is in Oracle. The disaster the heroes have to avert is basically an old god trying to reassert his power - which, unfortunately makes people crazy and sick. Toloth is the god of magnets/magnetism and unbalances living things, which is why there's a problem. His stronghold is a new electric mill (a water powered electric generator) in the most remote part of the country/continent. The country the heroes are in is roughly similar to the late 1800's, early 1900's, think more western than medeival. The country is divided up into a handful of provinces, each ruled by a noble family.

New Gods:
Nyma - goddess of water and life
Liusaidh - goddess of warfare and fire
Ordin - god of gold, earth, and tradition

Old Gods:
All have been replaced by the new gods, except for Toloth who is trying to come back.

Primary Characters:
Jalena - Nyman priestess, created the "holy" sword and dagger that are Nyma's weapons on earth, and something of a prophet.
Arnell - Mercenary hired to track Jalena down, has a change of heart and teams up with her, Kelda, Devyn, Stefanee and Dorian.
Kelda - A red-skinned healer who heals by manipulating the flow of blood in someone's body, the result of an immaculate conception when her mother tried to summon Nyma.
Devyn - Kelda's adoptive father and a woodsman, used to be a Liusaidhan, but now follows Nyma.
Nolan - A tavern owner whose wife left him and their daughter, Gwyn. Also, he's the one Jalena gave the sword and dagger for safe keeping.
Gwyn - Nolan's daughter and Sedge's lover, trained to fight by Nolan and as good a swordsman as Sedge.
Sedge - Born of a noble family, ran when his father died and found Nolan who offered him a place to stay. He's also the one chosen to bear the holy weapons.
Stefanee - Sedge's younger sister, currently fourteen. Trained in a Liusaidhan temple and adept at her weapons training, has a talent for picking things up quickly.
Dorian - Sedge's younger brother, currently sixteen. Also trained at the Liusaidhan temple, but had no talent for combat. Alligned with Ordin and for years has assumed that Sedge was dead and he was next in line for the succession.
Maeve - Retired mercenary, Stefanee's mentor, and Gwyn's mother/Nolan's wife.
Baylor - The big bad. He's Toloth's high priest and an active recruiter for the cause.
Attun - Orphaned teen poacher, he was taken in by Baylor and eventually became Baylor's most trusted henchman, despite his youth, because of his unquestioning loyalty and keen forester's abilities.

Okay, that's everyone. As you can see, there are a lot of characters. Most of them have POV chapters, too, which makes life interesting. It's a lot of fun, though, to switch perspectives, because the tone of an Arnell chapter is much different than that of a Kelda chapter. One of the best things anyone has said about Oracle was when Nicole was talking about how much she likes the characters, she said something like "Whenever I'm reading a Stefanee chapter, I always think how I wish the whole novel were written from her POV. But then, when I read the next chapter, in someone else's POV, I think the whole thing should be in their POV."

Going on two years now. Yeesh, I'm so glad to finally be getting close to the end. Then it's just a matter of starting to edit, which will be almost as much work as writing the thing in the first place, thanks to all the changes to character, setting, and plot I'll be making. However, once the first draft is finished, I am not only allowed, but encouraged, to let the thing sit in a box for a few months. I can't wait.