⚠️ Here be spoilers. You have been warned. ⚠️
The story so far
Goerranu first appears in Death Descends when she tries to tempt Z’nnek from his quest to rescue Ru’mael’s shade from the demon lords of the underworld. Despite her power as the goddess of secrets and lies, she is unable to enthrall him, which earns Z’nnek her respect and admiration, and frustration. Still, in partnership with Araeda’h, the goddess of magic, she aids Z’nnek in his coup to dethrone the demon lords Baal, Raam, and Sett. You can see Goerranu in all her glory on the original cover art by Caterina Kalymniou for Death Descends, whispering in Z’nnek’s ear while Araeda’h reclines in the foreground resplendent in her role as grandmother (many times removed) of the new god of the unclaimed dead.
Eight thousand years later, give or take a few, Goerranu enlists Illyria as her latest tool in her quest to recover Araeda’h’s prison from the high gods’ minions. Early in Raven Queen, Arise, Goerranu takes advantage of Illyria’s urgent mistake in rising from the dead without a chaperone from the underworld. She aids Illyria in secret, extracting from her a simple promise to visit her in the doomed city of Uurrukk in exchange for her help. Throughout the first book (and the rest of the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy), Goerranu plays many roles in Illyria’s story. But despite her frequent assertion that she and Illyria will be best of friends, Goerranu most often finds herself in the familiar role of frenemy.
I commissioned several pieces from different artists which include Goerranu for art cards included in the hardcover Kickstarter. This first is from Epic Made and originally imagined to be the cover of Death Descends featuring Araeda’h and Z’nnek at the gates of Nethe. It didn’t quite capture what actually happens in the book, but it’s still fun to see the progression from sketch to completed artwork with Goerranu hiding in the foreground to attempt to subvert Araeda’h’s plans.
At the same time, I gave J-P Mavinga the same visual direction for the prospective cover, and his vision is a bit different, as you can see.
The next is from Epic Made featuring the rebel goddesses. Goerranu whispers secrets, and possibly lies, into the ear of her erstwhile compatriot, Mawzi. You can see the evolution from sketch to finished product.
Given the same visual prompt, J-P Mavinga chose to interpret the rebel goddess a little differently. You can see the evolution of his concept from sketch to finished product.
Writing Goerranu
Creating Goerranu is fun. She’s an evolving character who has assumed several archetypes along the way so far: the Goddess, the Trickster, the Shapeshifter, the Temptress, the Oracle, the Ally, the Prophetess, the Witch, the Villain, the Crone, and (briefly) the Queen. She will certainly reprise many of those roles in the future. And she’ll assume many more new ones in her immortality. I’ll just hint here that she’s very likely to take a turn as Victim, Sorceress, Usurper, and Heroine in future stories.
I imagine her personality as an Enneagram 4 wing 5, an Individualist and an Investigator. Her verb is subvert: she subverts others’ plans, including Illyria’s; she subverts others’ expectations of themselves and of her; and she subverts the high gods religion of the Litanies with her own Tales. Her strengths are Futuristic, Strategic, Significance, Ideation, and Input.
Because she’s an unusual source of antagonism and support, Goerranu will be evolving as a frenemy for Illyria for a long time to come. She has a significant role in the supporting cast throughout the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy.
Where she’s been
No one truly knows the goddess of secrets and lies, the teller of the Tales, and shadowy agent of her own agenda—perhaps not even herself. Born on Godforge after the thirteen hosts followed Preema through Heaven’s Gate to reclaim the ancestral homeland, Goerranu is a daughter of the desert wastes of Cimarron. In the internecine politics of the oasis kingdom, she learned early the value of being clever and secretive and better informed than everyone else.
Though she ascended before the Litanies were written, Goerranu was aware that other gods roamed the world. As a mortal woman, she traveled to the mountain city of Uurrukk to learn from a demon prophetess named Uilianna. In time, she became the demoness’s lover and high priestess. When Uilianna refused to bow to Amuun’s authority and pay homage to the high gods of the newly-ordained Litanies, Goerranu was among the collateral damage when Uurrukk was destroyed. She awoke, ascended and unclaimed, and powerfully motivated to oppose Amuun and her coterie.
Goerranu was barely a goddess when Amuun brought the old gods, including Urth, to the world to keep order and maintain the veil. She spent millennia in hiding, spreading her Tales to create myths and legends, and to aid other small gods in ascending beyond their mortality…all in service to her secret war against the tyranny of the high gods and the old.
Along with Araeda’h, Goerranu was instrumental in setting Z’nnek upon his path to immortality in Death Descends. And she was the first to greet Illyria when she returned to the sun-kissed lands to rise from her own grave in Raven Queen, Arise.
Where she’s going
Goerranu has many more plots to meddle in before she embraces death eternal. She plays a central role in the upcoming second book in the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy, Raven Queen, Ascend.
If you haven’t had a chance to meet Goerranu, the prequel is free to subscribers of Dark Tidings.
Death Descends is also for sale at all major ebook retailers.
The audio book, narrated by the lovely and talented Amy Bentley, is available wherever fine audio books are sold.
